Tech Support
by Lynn Jones
Summary: Arlua works for a technology support company as a service technician and is also a skilled hacker. She can handle anything any piece of technology has ever thrown at her... but can she handle the one client no one else in her company will deal with? possible future ShizuoxOC and maybe some IzayaxOC if you look carefully. rated for swearing
1. Prologue

**I haven't done any work on any of my stories in forever, so of course now I'm starting a new one in a completely different category than usual. Makes complete sense. Anyway, hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Natsuki and Arlua.**

Prologue

"Here's your list for today – and good luck," Natsuki added wryly, passing her newest technician a sheet of paper. There was only one name on the list of clients whose computers the technician was supposed to check out for the day. Said technician arched her eyebrows at the older woman.

"Natsuki, I think I can handle more than one job in a day," she sighed. Natsuki shook her head.

"Not this one, Arlua. This one will take hours. Unless you decide to quit like the last six techs I've sent to this client," she said, tapping the paper with one finger. "But I know you like challenges, so maybe you'll do better than the others. Just check over his computer, make sure it's running correctly, and try not to murder him. If you're lucky, he won't even be there yet; you're just making sure his stuff works for when he gets back into town." Arlua rolled her eyes and started toward the door.

"To be completely honest, I don't believe you. I'll be back as soon as I'm done fixing whatever problem he has," she called over her shoulder. To her surprise, Natsuki laughed.

"Oh, I don't think you can fix whatever problem he's got. His computer, maybe. But that guy needs a different kind of fixing. The straightjacket and padded room kind."

Arlua frowned and looked down at the paper again. Was this client really that bad?

"Arlua?"

"Yeah?"

"This guy's only in town every now and then, so try to bear with checking the technology for a bit, and he'll leave again really soon. He always does," Natsuki told her. Arlua waved to show she'd heard and stepped out of the building. She glanced at the address next to the client's name. It wasn't too far, so she decided to walk.

He couldn't be that bad, this…what was his name? Arlua glanced at the sheet. Orihara. Izaya Orihara. The name seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it… She shrugged and started down the street.


	2. Chapter 1

**Wow! Two chapters (well a prologue and a chapter) in the same day? How unusual for me!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything but my two OCs.**

Chapter 1:

Arlua scowled at the door. Or, more accurately, at the security keypad next to it.

"Natsuki…" she growled. "One would think, with all your warnings about insane clients, you would have mentioned the fact that the office I'm supposed to get into is locked with a security code." She sighed and reached into her tool kit. She didn't even have to look; she knew where every tool was and could find whatever she needed with her eyes closed. Her fingertips found the hidden pocket and slipped inside, then brushed the small device she kept there. She had it halfway out of the kit when she paused and turned around.

_Crap. Could've sworn I was the only one in this hall…_ she thought. She was debating whether or not shoving the device back into its pocket would make her seem too suspicious when he spoke.

"Having trouble getting inside?" he inquired casually, as if he were asking what the weather was like. Arlua resisted the urge to reply with something along the lines of 'Actually, no, my electronic lock pick would have gotten me inside in about thirty seconds if you hadn't shown up.'

"A bit. Apparently Mr. Orihara doesn't want his computer checked before he comes back after all," she said instead. The man tilted his head, and his black hair brushed over his brown eyes.

"You're the computer technician?" he asked, the corners of his mouth curving upward. Arlua nodded warily.

"Arlua Teki. I'm supposed to look over everything so when Mr. Orihara comes back, it will all be working just fine," she told him. "Not that I really think it won't be working, but…" She shrugged and used the motion to more subtly return her device to its pocket. "Apparently Mr. Orihara is paranoid or really picky or something." The man's gaze sharpened.

"Oh? Well, in that case, would you like for me to let you in?" he asked. Arlua hesitated. "Really, it's no trouble." He reached past her and tapped a series of numbers into the keypad, his fingers moving briskly, completely sure as they punched in the code. A moment later, the door behind her made a soft clicking sound as the lock disengaged. "There you go." Arlua eyed him warily. Something about him seemed odd, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was his jacket, with its furry edging.

"…Thanks…" she said carefully. She turned and stepped into the room. She headed for the desk and eased around it, scanning the computer screen on it. She tapped the keyboard, and the screensaver gave way to a login screen. She tilted her head, considering it. Then she crouched to examine the computer resting underneath the desk. After a brief glance over the wires connected to it, she stood and focused on the login screen again.

_Natsuki said a full check…but the computer's locked. If I'm going to check the software as well as the hardware, I'll have to get the password…_

"Can you break into the computer like you were going to break into the room?" the man who had unlocked the door whispered in her ear. Arlua jumped.

"What the-?" She spun around and came face to face with him. He laughed.

"Don't play innocent. I saw the pick," he informed her. She gaped at him. When had he come in? she'd thought he was still in the hallway! He tilted his head curiously. "Well?"

"The company I work for is being paid to send someone here to get into this room and make sure this computer works," she stated as calmly as she could. "The methods I am allowed to use were not limited in the contract." The man grinned.

"True enough. But just to save you some time…" He reached around her again, and his fingers flew over the computer keyboard. He straightened as the screen changed and the desktop came up. Arlua stared for a moment at the screen, then turned back to the man.

"How…?" He smirked.

"I would expect and information broker to know how to get into his own office and computer, wouldn't you?" he replied cheerfully. Arlua froze.

"You're…Mr. Orihara?" she realized. He saw her expression and threw his head back, laughing.

"That's me!" he agreed. Then he leaned close and added in a conspiratorial whisper, "Don't worry, I won't get mad because you said I was 'paranoid or really picky,' even though that was rude of you."

"I see why Natsuki said your problems would best be solved with a straight jacket and a padded room," Arlua muttered under her breath. "You're insane." He laughed again, then plopped down in his chair and spun it around a few times.

"You're more entertaining than the last technician they sent," he told her cheerfully.

"And you're about as entertaining as those TV shows on serial killers," Arlua snapped. She turned back to the computer, deciding to ignore him. As soon as she ran a scan of his machine, she could leave. And she would be going back to Natsuki and informing her that some other poor soul could handle Izaya Orihara's tech support next time.

"But those shows are fun!" he exclaimed. Arlua sighed and tried to focus on the task in front of her, not the insane client spinning in his chair behind her. As she started a scan running and clicked through the device manager, double-checking the drivers and installed software, Izaya stopped spinning and watched her for a moment. Then he got up and went over to a small table with an assortment of game pieces on it. Arlua glanced at them and blinked. Were those…Othello pieces…and chess pieces…and Shogi pieces? What kind of game was he playing? And who was he playing it with?

_Focus. Do the job. Get out. Find Natsuki. Kick her. Then everything will be okay,_ she told herself. _I'll tell her to make someone else take this client and I'll never have to be near his insanity again._

When Arlua finished, she wrote out the bill and laid it next to the keyboard. She left, and Izaya was so engrossed in studying his made-up game with its three different kinds of pieces that she didn't think he even noticed when she closed the door behind herself.

She didn't see him watch her leave, didn't see the grin he gave the door after it closed.

The new technician was very interesting indeed, he mused. Just how interesting she was would have to be determined the next time she came.


	3. Chapter 2

**Wow! Three Chapters and two reviews already! I'm on a roll!**

**Thank you to RYNO IV for your suggestion! I definitely plan on showing a lot more about Arlua and what makes her tick. It might take me a while to completely develop her, but I'll do my best! And I will also try to include more descriptions.**

**And to saphira54325, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I'm rather fond of Izaya myself, so I'm trying really hard to keep him in character.**

**Thanks also to Shan-kun, who I can always ask for advice on how characters would act in a situation if I'm not sure!**

**Disclaimer: obviously I haven't purchased Durarara and associated characters or trademarks or whatever since last chapter, so I can only lay claim to Natsuki and Arlua.**

Chapter 2

Arlua stalked into Natsuki's office, a scowl twisting her lips. The more senior technician looked up from her computer. Arlua figured she was probably remoting into a server or something like usual.

"Hey, Arlua. Everything check out with Orihara?" she asked, apparently not noticing her friend and coworker's scowl.

"Oh, everything checked out all right. Including Mr. Orihara's sanity – if he ever had any," Arlua snapped. Her blue-green eyes flashed dangerously as she advanced, stalking around the desk to loom over her seated friend. Natsuki laughed nervously and twisted a few strands of dark hair around her finger.

"I take it he was there, then?" she guessed. Arlua nodded sharply.

"And next time his computer needs maintenance, someone else can do it because I'm not going back," she snarled. Natsuki sighed.

"I understand. But you realize no one else is willing to do it, either?" she muttered. "I was hoping you'd take dealing with him as a challenge."

"Natsuki, there are challenges, and then there are things that are impossible to deal with, and then there is Izaya Orihara," Arlua growled. "And tell the next poor person you manage to force to take that client that the door and computer are both locked, and the guy likes to sneak up behind people. I'm going to visit Shi and try to forget I ever met the one person who would benefit most from that straight jacket and padded room you mentioned this morning." With that, Arlua turned on her heel and stalked back out of Natsuki's office, leaving her friend to groan and drop her head onto the desk as she tried to think of who she could convince to take any support requests Orihara might have.

Arlua scanned the crowd on the street, searching for the person she had come to meet. She'd called him on the way, and he had agreed to meet her in the park. She sat on a bench as the fountain erupted, obscuring her view of the crowded street for a moment. When it died down, she glanced around and jumped when she saw a tall blond man just a few feet away, grinding a cigarette into the ashtray beside the bench. He caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and turned toward her, frowning.

"Why're you so jumpy? Didn't you see me walk over?" he demanded. She shook her head, berating herself mentally for not paying attention. "So whatever you needed to talk about is that bad, huh?" He moved over and sat beside her, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands hanging loosely, and turned his head to watch her.

"Not bad, necessarily…just…exhausting. And crazy. He's crazy. And exhausts me. And I didn't even realize how tired I was until I sat down here," she sighed. Arlua leaned back against the bench and tilted her head back to stare upward at the sky framed by the park's trees and the towering buildings around the park.

"He?" The blond reached up and removed his blue glasses, hooking them in the black vest of his bartender's outfit before resuming his earlier pose.

"Yeah. A client. He's insane – I mean literally, maybe criminally, insane," Arlua muttered. She told him about the man and his insanity, including his bizzare reaction to the electronic lock pick. "Now that I'm thinking about it, a normal person would have called the police if they thought someone was trying to break into their office, right? So why didn't he? Nothing he did made any sense, Shi!" she added, using her nickname for the man sitting next to her.

"I don't know who this guy is, but I want to punch him," he growled. "The way you describe him makes him sound like the flea." Arlua felt her lips start to curve upward.

"That guy you try to kill every time he comes here? Isaac something? What was his name again?" she asked, trying to remember.

"Izaya, not Isaac," the man next to her muttered. Arlua froze.

"Izaya?" she repeated. She stared at him. "Shizuo…" she said slowly, using his full name for once instead of the nickname she'd stuck him with months before. "The flea…isn't Izaya Orihara, the information broker, is it?" The man's eyebrows came together as he frowned.

"Why?"

"Because that's the man whose computer I was checking," Arlua answered. She let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Guess that explains that insanity of his…" Beside her, Shizuo's frown had become the dark, rage-filled expression she knew meant he was on the edge of smashing something – or someone. "Shi, he's not here in Ikebukuro, he's back in Shinjuku, I'm sure…" He clenched his fists.

"I'm going to kill that flea," Shizuo growled through clenched teeth. Arlua smiled.

"Then Natsuki wouldn't have to worry about making someone go to his office anymore," she mused. "Normally I object to you beating the crap out of people, but for Mr. Orihara, I'll cheer you on. I'm just glad Natsuki said she understood when I told her I wasn't going to deal with him…" She glanced sideways at Shizuo and saw he was still glowering, and was now clenching and unclenching his fists as though imagining how it would feel to wrap his fingers around Izaya's neck and squeeze. Arlua sighed stood. "Come on, Shi. Let's go find something to do." _Find you some milk and a place with fewer people so you can calm down,_ she thought.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello again!**

**I have found myself with quite a bit of free time today, so I decided to update!**

**Thank you tons to Shan-kun for reviewing! I hope Izzy is in character this chapter, too; I worked hard on it.**

**Disclaimer: In case you've forgotten since chapter 2, I can lay no claim to Durarara.**

Chapter 3

Arlua poked her head into Natsuki's office on her way to the back room to check for support requests.

"Hey, did you know the crazy client you sent me to is Shi's flea?" Arlua asked. Natsuki looked up.

"Huh?"

"The guy Shizuo is always trying to kill whenever he shows up in Ikebukuro? That's the guy you sent me to yesterday," Arlua replied. Natsuki blinked in surprise.

"Really? Sorry about that. But no one else would take the job, and I didn't make the connection," Natsuki said. "By the way, a top-priority support request just came through," she added, glancing at her screen. "The client requests you specifically."

Arlua felt a horrible sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"Which client?" she asked woodenly, dreading the answer.

"Apparently his computer won't boot," Natsuki said conversationally. "I can't imagine why; we just had a technician there yesterday."

_Other technicians went to other clients yesterday. It could easily be one of the others and I was just requested to make sure it wouldn't be the same tech as yesterday, _Arlua told herself.

"Which. Client. Is. It?" she forced herself to ask.

"Izaya Orihara," Natsuki answered. Arlua groaned and turned her back on the other woman.

"I'm not in today. I called in sick. I'm going home," she announced as she stalked away.

"Arlua, wait!" Natsuki called after her. Arlua stopped, but she didn't turn back around.

"No. He's insane. I told you yesterday; I'm not going back," she snapped.

"He's offering a bonus to the company if you show up. A large bonus. Which you will get part of," Natsuki said, having followed Arlua into the hallway.

"I don't care."

"Don't be stubborn, Arlua. We have to send someone, and you were requested. You know-"

"I said I'm calling in sick for today," she broke in, cutting her friend off. Natsuki was quiet for a moment.

"The last tech who called in sick rather than go when he requested them – no, you're not the first one to do that, Arlua – came back the next day and there was a different request. He requested the same tech every day until the person ran out of sick days. The tech ended up quitting," she said softly. Arlua scowled. "Orihara gets what he wants, Arlua. One way or another. That tech who quit? Ended up working for another support company. Orihara used an alias and requested them at their new company. He doesn't give up. But if you just do what he wants, he'll get bored. That's how it was with one of the others; the tech just went when requested and he got bored and started requesting a different technician." Arlua's scowl deepened.

"So you're saying if I just go and try to be as boring as possible, he won't request me again?" she growled. Natsuki nodded. Arlua sighed.

"Fine. I'll go. Today only," she snapped.

_Just to get him to leave me alone,_ she told herself.

Arlua eyed the keypad warily. The door was locked; she'd already tried the handle. Figuring if the information broker was going to turn her in for her electronic lock pick, he would have done it already, she pulled the device out of its pocket and set it up.

Less than a minute later, she heard the soft click of the lock disengaging and opened the door, returning the device to its pocket in her tool kit as she did so. Arlua stepped into the office and closed the door behind her.

"Oh, so you decided to come after all. Interesting," Izaya's voice laughed. Arlua refused to look around for him and strode over to the desk, trying to appear as if she wasn't bothered by being there at all.

"I didn't decide to come; you requested a specific technician, so I was obligated to come," she replied as she set her tool kit on the desk and eyed his computer appraisingly. "What did you do to it?" she added, crouching to see the tower better.

"I don't know what you mean, Lu-chan," Izaya protested from wherever he was. Arlua tensed.

_Lu-chan? What the hell? _She forced herself not to react, to focus on the task at hand. _Just get the stupid machine running again and leave. Be boring._ She reached around the tower to turn it around. As soon as she saw the back of the computer, she sighed and forgot her "be boring" plan.

Arlua stood up, put her hands on her hips, and scowled, directing her frustration around the room until she found him, leaning against the wall, and then glared straight at him.

"What's that look for, Lu-chan?" he laughed. She growled.

"What did you do with the power cord, you cretin?" she demanded. He smirked.

"What makes you think I did anything with it?" he countered.

"Because unless you're in the habit of letting strangers into your office – which I suppose you might be, considering how crazy you are – you must have been the one who disconnected the power cord from the wall and the computer and removed it from the vicinity of said computer," Arlua snapped. "Now tell me where you put it or give it to me so I can plug your stupid computer back in." Izaya laughed and moved over to a set of shelves on the far wall.

"I really should make you find it yourself," he mused as he reached behind one of the books and pulled the power cord out. Then he threw it across the room. Arlua, still scowling, caught it and crouched to plug the computer in.

"I really should make you check to see if that was the only problem yourself," she muttered as she pressed the power button and straightened to run a quick check on the stupid thing. Izaya watched silently as she worked, and she ignored him as completely as she could.

"Next time I'll give you an issue that won't be so easy to solve. A real challenge," he told her as she wrote out the bill.

_Next time?! _She thought frantically. Instead of replying out loud, though, she folded the bill into a paper airplane and launched it at him.

"Next time request a different technician. I have better things to do than whatever 'challenges' you think you can come up with," she retorted. He grinned.

"See you soon, Lu-chan," was his only reply. She glared at him, but he just wiggled his fingers in a cheery wave. So she picked up her tool kit and headed for the door.

On the way back, she resolved to erase all data on his hard drive beyond data recovery if he requested her again.


	5. Chapter 4

**More free time means more chapters!**

**Shan-kun, my friend, you are awesome. Thank you for reviewing so much!**

**Disclaimer: I still (sadly) don't own Durarara**

Chapter 4

Izaya stared at the monitor.

_Password is incorrect._

Slowly, he typed in his password a second time.

_Password is incorrect._

Why? He was typing it in correctly…the technician. He grinned.

"Lu-chan, you really are a very interesting person," he murmured. Then he spun his chair around a few times, grinning. This technician would keep him entertained for quite a while. "Now…how long should I wait to have her come back and fix this?" he murmured.

Arlua smirked a little as she walked down the hallway to Natsuki's office. She stepped inside and went over to tap lightly on her friend's desk, drawing her attention away from whatever remote project she was working on.

"I take it your support request went well?" Natsuki guessed, smiling slightly.

"Oh, yes. I do believe it went very well," Arlua replied cheerfully. Natsuki's smile widened as she turned back to her computer to sign off that the request had been completed. Then she froze. She often got lost in her work and forgot which technician took which request, and today was no different. She had completely forgotten that Arlua had gone taken Izaya's request.

"How the hell did your support request go well?" Natsuki demanded, turning back to Arlua. She studied her friend's smug grin worriedly. "Did you catch his insanity or something? No support request from him ever goes well. And you were mad about having to go at all. What happened?" Arlua didn't answer right away. She was debating how to answer.

"It doesn't matter. I suspect Mr. Orihara will be requesting me again in a day or two. He probably can't go very long without knowing his password to get into his computer," the technician said thoughtfully. Her blue-green eyed were shining as she added, "I'll take all of Orihara's requests, until he gets tired of his game or until I win."

Natsuki was left to gape after her as Arlua spun around in a circle, then strode briskly out the door, presumably headed to the back room where the support requests that weren't for specific technicians were displayed on an alert board. After a few moments, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number.

"Shizuo? I think Arlua may have caught some sort of insanity from a client. I thought she might enjoy the challenge, but I didn't expect her to react with this much enthusiasm," Natsuki told him.

"A client? Which client?" Shizuo demanded. "Not the flea?"

"Actually, yes. She just volunteered to take on any support request he makes. And…shit, I think she hacked him and changed his computer password; she made a comment about it. He's not going to be amused by this, Shizuo, he's going to kill her." The words tumbled out, and she felt panic swell in her throat. "What are we going to do?"

"She…what? Slow down, Natsuki," Shizuo sighed.

"Arlua just volunteered to take any support requests Izaya Orihara makes. Any. Support. Requests. And she said something about him not being able to go very long without his password…" Natsuki took a deep breath. "Shizuo, I think she's snapped. Maybe Orihara's insanity is contagious. She seemed…excited about the prospect of going back."

Shizuo was silent for a long moment.

"She seemed sane enough last night," he said finally. Natsuki could hear his tone darkening as he spoke, could practically sense the rage flowing through the phone. He was furious. "I'm going to kill that damn flea!"

"Natsuki, tell Shizuo he can't kill Orihara until he stops requesting me," Arlua told her, poking her head back into her friend's office. "I want to win, and I can't do that if he's dead!"

"Shizuo, Arlua says not to kill the flea yet because she wants to beat him," Natsuki relayed dutifully, not even thinking about the words she was saying. Then she paused, mulling that over, while Shizuo fell into a shocked silence on the other end. "She's really taken this challenge to heart," she sighed.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Arlua complained. "Don't worry, guys." She bared her teeth. "I'll beat Izaya Orihara at his own game of one-uping everyone, and then Shi can kill him. Natsuki, I'm heading out to cover another support request. Might take a while. Don't panic if I don't check in before I head home, okay?"

Before Natsuki could reply, Arlua waved and left.

"If the flea comes to Ikebukuro, I'm not going easy on him just because Arlua wants to play with fire," Shizuo growled.

"Right. Drink some milk and calm down before-"

Shizuo's roar cut Natsuki off. She sighed. Whoever had just irritated him was going to regret crossing him right then, she reflected as she hung up. He was always extra violent when enraged right after discussing Izaya.


	6. Chapter 5

**Another chapter! Yay!**

**Thanks to Shan-kun for reviews and stuff!**

**And thanks to saphira54325 for your review!**

**Okay, the company Arlua and Natsuki work for needs a name. If anyone has a suggestion, please PM me or leave it with a review. Those of you who have been reading and not reviewing for whatever reason, feel free to comment! I love comments, especially constructive criticism!**

**Disclaimer: I still can't seem to find out how I could own Durarara so only Natsuki and Arlua are mine.**

Chapter 5

It was around noon the next day when Natsuki called Arlua into her office again.

"Arlua, Orihara is requesting you again," Natsuki said bluntly. Arlua laughed, surprising her friend.

"I thought he'd last longer than this. I'm almost disappointed," she sighed. "Oh, well. I'll go over and help him get into his computer and act like I didn't do it." She waved and left.

When she reached the building Izaya's office was in, he was waiting outside, leaning against the side of said building, hands in his jacket pockets.

"You're even more interesting than I thought you would be," he called as she walked up. Arlua arched an eyebrow.

"Oh? How so?" she asked.

"You retaliated. None of the other techs ever did that," he replied. He tilted his head curiously. "By the way, I figured out your new password. Very clever."

"You figured it out?" she repeated. He smirked.

"Oh, yes. The security question was a nice touch, and the symbol in the middle had me for a bit. Would you like to come up and see what you can do with what's wrong with the computer now?" he asked. Arlua surveyed him with a mixture of incredulity and interest. Had he really remembered enough of their conversation to figure it out? Or was he bluffing, hoping she would give it away?

Either way, Arlua found herself being drawn farther into the challenge she had set for herself: beating Izaya at his own game of one-upmanship.

"I'll take a look," she agreed, hiding her reaction. Then she walked right past him and into the building, not bothering to look back to see if he was following her.

"Are you going to break into my office like you did yesterday?" he asked. Arlua let herself grin since he was behind her and wouldn't see it.

"Nope," she answered cheerfully. "I don't need it."

When she reached the door, she tapped in the code she had looked up the evening before. The company kept a record of all the security information for all of their clients, including things like door access codes and computer passwords.

Of course, the clients didn't know that. Or most of them didn't, anyway. A few might. She supposed Izaya might know, being an information broker and all. For all she knew, he knew the ins and outs of the company she worked for better than she did.

"You got the code, Lu-chan! Congratulations!" Izaya cheered, entering the room as Arlua was eying the computer screen. "I left your password on because it amused me. Change it if you want; I'll just figure it out again."

"Somebody's confident," she observed as she typed in the password. "Are you secretly tech-savvy a hacker?"

"No. I just love people, and everything they do amuses me," he replied cheerfully.

The desktop came up, and she frowned. A notification popped onto the screen, informing her that the anti-virus program had detected twelve hundred viruses and pieces of spyware. Arlua's frown turned to a smirk.

"I really hope this isn't the only trick you've arranged. This is too easy," she commented, pulling up the task manager to find the program name. She knew every legitimate and even the secret underground anti-virus software, and this wasn't any of them. It was a virus.

"Think so?" Izaya murmured. She barely heard him as she hunted down the program file and deleted it before emptying the recycling bin.

_That should take care of that,_ she thought smugly. She closed out of everything and was about to log out when the same notification popped up. She frowned and checked task manager.

The same program name was back.

The same program file was back.

_This is just a symptom of the virus. The virus itself must be reinstalling this smaller virus on the computer whenever it was deleted,_ Arlua thought. She narrowed her eyes at the screen and went back to work.

Izaya watched her type away, a slight smirk twisting his lips. She had underestimated him. Twice. Once with the password and once when she thought he would set up a simple virus for her to eradicate. He had promised her a real challenge, and he intended to keep that promise.

It wouldn't be very entertaining if she just came, fixed things, and left.

"So, you know Shizu-chan?" Izaya began. Arlua glanced up from the monitor for an instant, confusion flickering in her blue-green eyes.

"Who?" she muttered, returning most of her attention to her work.

"Shizu-chan. You know, that monster you visit in Ikebukuro," he said, drawing on the information he had gathered about her over the last couple of days.

"Shi? Shi's not a monster, you irritating little insect!" Arlua snapped, eyes flashing dangerously as she was completely distracted from her task. Izaya laughed.

"Aw, don't get mad, Lu-chan. Shizu-chan and I hate each other; and with his monstrous strength of course I call him a monster. And a brute. And-"

"I am well aware of how much you two hate each other, _flea_," she snapped. "But if you call him a monster or a brute or-"

"A protozoan?" Izaya suggested, grinning unrepentantly. Arlua scowled.

"Or a protozoan," she gowled, "I will personally ensure you never figure out the password I will change yours to, and even if you do, it wouldn't do you any good because I will also change every single file on your hard drive to applications to various mental institutions and when you open one, it will automatically be sent and you won't be able to retrieve the data you want because I will erase every previous version of the files."

Iazya just laughed.

"No fierce, Lu-chan! Is Shizu-chan that important to you?" he asked playfully. Arlua scowled.

"I mean it!" she insisted. He grinned and flapped a hand at her.

"Oh, I don't doubt you, Lu-chan," he assured her condescendingly. She turned back to the monitor for a moment, typing in a few more commands. Then she gathered her tool kit and dropped the bill next to the keyboard as usal.

She left without another word, without another glance in his direction.

So she didn't see his smirk take on an almost thoughtful appearance as he watched her go.

**What do you guys think? Should I reveal how Arlua knows Shizuo next chapter, do some background development?**

**Oh, in case anyone wants to know, the security question was: **_**Natsuki said your problems would best be solved with a _ and a _.**_

**Bonus points to anyone who can guess the password! Hint: the blanks are two words you'll put together with no spaces, like **_**computermonitor.**_** And in between will be the & symbol. So an example of a guess would be **_**computermonitor&CDRom.**_** No caps, no spaces. Ok?**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hi again! Two chapters in one day! Wow I have tons of free time!**

**thanks and bonus pointo to Shan-kun for reviewing and getting the password right!**

**Disclaimer: sad to say I still don't own DRRR**

****Chapter 6

"Idiot insect. What does he know about how important Shi is to me anyway?"Arlua muttered under her breath as she stalked through the door of her apartment that night and locked it behind her.

She leaned against the counter in her small kitchen with a sigh.

It had only been two days since she had seen him last. Two years since she had introduced him to Natsuki. Three years since she met him.

Three years...

It hadn't been Arlua's first day in the area, but it was the first time she got into trouble. She was looking for a job; she already had an apartment in Shinjuku, but wouldn't be able to keep it unless she found work soon. None of the companies she had tried in Shinjuku had been willing to take and untried technician, so she had decided to try her luck farther away. Her search had eventually led her to Ikebukuro, and she ended up staying later than she planned.

As she walked toward the station, dusk was falling, and she walked a little faster, not wanting to be out alone at night, knowing Ikebukuro's reputation. She was nervous, uncertain, in unfamiliar surroundings, and so didn't feel like the Arlua who would hurl verbal abuse at anyone who crossed her.

"Hey there," an unfamiliar voice rasped. "What's your hurry?" She didn't turn around to see who was talking to her. She picked up her pace, wishing she had her tool kit with her; it would have made a much better weapon than her purse.

A bellow had drowned out anything else the person following her might have said.

A large vending machine shattered on the street in front of her, metal flying everyhere.

Arlua flinched when it hit, and felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.

As the roar and sound of the machine breaking faded, the person behind her grabbed her wrist.

"That's one monster you don't want to meet," the person told her. "Come on." He had black hair and dark clothes, she noticed as he tried to tug her sideways, away from the crowded main street.

Arlua panicked and tried to pull away. She was not going anywhere with a stranger. She was NOT.

Just as she was realizing that the stranger was stronger than her -she was being hauled toward a dark side street that looked decidedly sinister- someone grabbed the back of the stranger's shirt.

"You. You're not the flea," someone snarled. "But you kind of look like him, and I don't think the lady will be upset if I take my anger out on you."

The man screamed and let go of Arlua, thrashing wildly. Arlua stared at the person as he hoisted the black-haired man into the air and hurled him down the street.

She heard a crash as he landed on something breakable and turned to the blond man in a bartender's outfit who had thrown him.

"Thank you," she said. The blond just grunted and turned away. Feeling some of her confidence return, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Hey! Hold on!" He turned back, a frown on his face, his eyes hidden by blue glasses. "I don't know who that person was...so thank you for getting rid of him," she told him. "I'm Arlua Teki."

"Shizuo Hiewajima," he replied. He hesitated, then said, "Are you hurt? You're bleeding!"

Arlua stared at her shoulder, which had been getting more and more painful since the vending machine broke. She had shoved the discomfort to the back of her mind, distracted by the man trying to haul her off.

"Thanks for that brilliant observation, Captain Obvious," she muttered, wincing. "Must've happened when the bending machine shattered." The man looked away.

"Sorry..."

"What?" she looked up at him curiously.

"I'll tell you later. Lets get you to a doctor," he decided. "I know a guy who can patch you up. He doesn't live too far away, closer than the hospital," he told her.

"You've already helped me; I can make it to the hospital," she replied.

"This guy is closer. Come on," the man -Shizuo Heiwajima, he'd said his name was- urged as he turned to lead the way down the street. Arlua hesitated; she'd just been saved from one stranger, only to be led away by someone else.

But he had been the one to help her, she reminded herself. Besides, there was something about him that made her want to trust him.

So she followed him.


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay, guys! RYNO IV pointed out how fast and poorly explained Arlua's change of heart was, so I did a quick little thing explaining her thoughts. It's "Challenge" so check it out if you want to see a little more of what went on in Arlua's head.**

**Thank you to Shan-kun and RYNO IV for reviewing!**

**Shan-kun, you're awesome! Thank you for helping me with Shizuo's characterization for this!**

**RYNO IV, I'm glad you noticed the virus's realism! I worked really hard to make it believable, since I've taken a few computer classes myself. If anything Arlua or Izaya or anyone else sets up seems too far-fetched, feel free to let me know! I'd appreciate the extra set of eyes on that.**

**Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Durarara!**

Chapter 7

(Still in Arlua's flashback to when she met Shizuo)

Shizuo led the injured girl up to Shinra's apartment, hoping the underground doctor would be home.

He knocked on the door, then glanced over his shoulder at her while he waited for someone to answer. The girl – woman, actually; she looked to be around twenty – was holding her bleeding shoulder and watching him warily.

A man with dark hair, a lab coat, and glasses opened the door.

"Shizuo? What-" he broke off when he caught sight of Arlua standing behind Shizuo. "Bring her in. I won't ask questions until after we patch her up."

Fifteen minutes later, Arlua was seated on the white couch in the man's living room, her shoulder newly bandaged. The stranger stood facing her, and Shizuo leaned against the wall.

"So, what happened?" the lab-coat-wearing man asked.

"A piece of a shattering vending machine hit me," she explained. He glanced at Shizuo, who looked away.

"Sorry," the blond muttered. Arlua shot him a confused look. "I'm the one who threw the vending machine," he explained. She gaped at him.

"What? Were you _trying_ to kill someone? And how could you even throw a vending machine?" she demanded. Shizuo glared at the far wall.

"I _was_ trying to kill someone – the flea. He tries to kill me fairly often, too," he growled. "I hate him. But he was the only one I was trying to hit with the machine. I'm sorry you got hurt." Arlua gaped at him some more.

_Well, this is Ikebukuro,_ she sighed.

"That still doesn't answer my question about how you could have thrown it," she pointed out.

"Shizuo has a rare condition where-"

"Shinra. Shut up," Shizuo snapped. He turned to Arlua. "When I get mad I lose control, okay? And I get really, really strong."

"So you're the 'monster' that guy said I didn't want to meet," Arlua realized. Shizuo looked away, but not before she saw his expression and regretted saying that out loud. She hesitated, then said softly, "Do people call you a monster a lot?" The blond wouldn't meet her eyes. The man in the lab coat was quiet, watching them. Arlua got up and walked over to Shizuo.

"I am a monster. I don't even try to hold back; there's no point in trying to control myself. So I just go berserk," he told her, voice low and bitter. She tilted her head. Her blue-green gaze searched his expression. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to find it, because she nodded sharply and her whole manner changed. She put her hands on her hips – ignoring the twinge in the bandaged shoulder as she did so – and pinned him in place with her eyes.

"You're not a monster," she informed him briskly. "Having super strength or a condition or whatever doesn't make you a monster. What would make you a monster is if you were proud of the destruction you could cause and enjoyed using your strength to hurt people." He stared at her for a moment. She narrowed her eyes. "You don't look like you believe me," she observed.

Shizuo shrugged.

"I've heard people tell me both ways before; I'm a monster, I'm not a monster," he explained. "Sometimes people tell me I'm not a monster just because they think that's what I want to hear."

"Well, I'm a computer technician. I don't care what you want to hear. I give people bad news all the time. If you were a monster, I'd say that. But you're not," she told him firmly.

"You're a computer technician? What company -" the man in the lab coat started to ask.

"Shinra, shut up," Shizuo snapped, not even bothering to let the other man finish his sentence. "If you let him start talking, he'll never stop," he explained to Arlua. She laughed.

"Shinra?" she repeated. The dark-haired man grinned.

"Shinra Kishitani," he introduced himself. "And you are…?"

"Arlua Teki. Thank you for helping me," she said.

"You said you were a technician. What company are you with?" Shinra asked. Arlua grimaced.

"None, right now. I just moved to the area; I haven't found a job yet. No one will take a new tech without a recommendation," she explained. Shinra glanced at Shizuo.

"I could give you a recommendation," he said. "The pharmaceutical company I work with has a contract with a Shinjuku-based computer company that's mostly legal. I think that company is hiring right now."

Arlua's eyes lit up.

"Really? That would be great!" she exclaimed.

"You're not even going to question the 'mostly legal' thing?" Shizuo grumbled. Arlua gave him a wicked grin.

"In addition to being an excellent support technician, I am also a fully qualified hacker. I have no objections to 'mostly legal,' and I wasn't expecting a fully legal company to be contracting with a pharmaceutical company that employs a man who is used to stitching up wounded people in his living room," she replied. Shizuo exchanged astonished glances with Shinra.

What kind of person was this girl?


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay! I didn't have much time over the weekend, but here we are on Monday with another chapter!**

**thank you so much to Shan-kun for your help, and to Erika Karisawa's New Sidekick for reviewing! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story!**

**heads up, this chapter isn't funny per se. It's more character development stuff, and it focuses on Natsuki instead of Arlua for once. Still, I hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: I own just Natsuki, her odd and still-to-be-revealed past, and Arlua.**

Natsuki leaned back in her chair and surveyed her day's work.

"No more hacking my clients for you," she murmured, tone laced with satisfaction. "Only I get to do that." She reached out and hit enter, activating the latent virus she had spent the day planting in the system of a black hat hacker who'd been terrorizing one of her clients. Natsuki had spent the last week tracing this hacker's movements and getting into his system so she could stop him from accessing her client's network. "Next time you access your hacking software, your hard drive will erase itself," she said smugly, addressing a hacker who would -if things went according to plan- never know what hit him. Or his system.

Natsuki grinned and stretched. Then she checked the time. Arlua should be done with Orihara by now...

Orihara.

Natsuki let her grin slide away as she thought about the information broker.

Normally she wouldn't have let a client drive so many techs away. Normally she would've requested to have him dropped.

But she hadn't reported him to her superiors. She hadn't let all of the techs quit, either. She had just quietly had them assigned elsewhere. Some got promoted. Some got transferred; they needed a few good techs in other cities, where some of their clients were. And one tech she hadn't been able to stop from quitting.

Natsuki hoped Arlua would continue to see Orihara as a challenge to be beaten; she was running out of excuses to shift techs so her bosses didn't notice anything odd about their insane client's support.

She had to keep Orihara as a client. She had to keep track of him. She couldn't let him get away. Not after...

Natsuki shook her head, shoving thoughts of the deranged informant out of her head.

She should call Arlua, make sure she was all right. Maybe warn her again; that would only strengthen her resolve to beat him.

Natsuki reached for her phone, dialed Arlua's number...and paused. She decided to send a text instead of calling. She could text her friend on the way.

Natsuki considered inviting Arlua along, but decided against it. She was being selfish, she knew -Arlua would benefit from the outing she was planning much more than Natsuki herself would- but she wanted him to herself for once.

So as she sent a text to her friend, asking if everything went all right with Orihara, she logged off her computer and left her office, making her way toward the station.

Natsuki wove through the crowd, searching for him. Just when she was starting to think he had been delayed and was beginning to listen for the sound of large objects hitting people, she saw him.

He was talking to a person in a black bodysuit with a yellow motorcycle helmet. The person was sitting on a midnight-black bike on the curb.

The person held out a device -a phone or something, Natsuki guessed- and he read whatever was on the screen. He nodded, and the rider on the black bike put the device away and pulled away from the curb.

No headlights. No sound. It just moved away and disappeared down the street.

Natsuki made her way over to him.

"Who was that?" she asked curiously. He turned to face her, warm brown eyes hidden by his usual blue-tinted glasses.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Natsuki. That was Celty. She wanted to know if I'd seen someone," he said with a shrug. Natsuki hid the spark or irritation that sizzled in her behind a smile.

"A friend of yours?" she asked. He nodded.

"I've known her longer than I've known Arlua," he told her. "Speaking of Arlua, I'm surprised she's not with you." Natsuki didn't let her irritation show.

Arlua wasn't even there and still Natsuki didn't have him to herself.

"I'm sure she's tired; she had to deal with Orihara today," she told him, voice full of sympathy or her friend. He stiffened.

"So she hasn't changed her mind about him being a challenge?" he growled. Natsuki winced inwardly, but outwardly she kept her sympathetic expression, though she let a bit of her exasperation show.

"Did you really expect her to? She never lets go of any challenge or puzzle once she starts it. That's how she is," Natsuki reminded him.

"That damn flea better not hurt her," he growled, glaring at the crowd of people passing by. Natsuki hesitated.

"I'm a little worried about what he'll do," she admitted. "But Arlua can take care of herself. As long as she doesn't make him too mad..."

He gave her a surprised look.

"Weren't you panicking yesterday?" he remembered. Natsuki grimaced.

"I was. But..."

"If he hasn't killed her yet, he's probably decided she's interesting enough to just mess with," he finished, clenching his fists. Natsuki scrambled for something else to talk about. He was getting angry, and she didn't want to talk about Arlua.

"What's this? Shizu-chan going on a date with someone besides Izaya?" an unfamiliar voice practically shrieked. Shizuo scowled. Natsuki turned around and found a brown-haired girl dressed completely in gray standing there.

Shizuo covered his face with one hand.

"We're not on a date," Natsuki informed the girl, steadfastly ignoring her mounting irritation with this stranger. "Who are you?" The girl grinned.

"I'm Erika Karisawa," she announced.

"This is Natsuki Homeron," Shizuo told her, indicating the dark-haired woman with a harp toss of his head. "She's from Shinjuku." Erika's brown eyes took on a frightening gleam.

"Shinjuku? Where Izaya lives?" she gasped. "Did he send you to find-"

"No," Shizuo growled. Natsuki took note of the blond's clenched jaw and fists and decided it was time to get away from this girl and her constant mentions of Orihara.

"Shizuo, can we get something to eat? I'm starving," Natsuki said, fixing a pleading expression on her face. Shizuo glanced at her. She widened her eyes innocently. His mouth twitched, and his fingers uncurled.

"Sure. See you," he added to the girl in gray. He turned away, drawing Natsuki with him with a glance. She followed cheerfully, not letting her faint smirk show until she was sure the gray girl wouldn't see.

"Aw! Bye, Shizu-chan!" the girl called. Shizuo raised a hand in acknowledgement and kept walking, Natsuki at his side.

As they walked down the street together, Natsuki hid her thoughts behind a cheerful grin. Behind the mask, though, she was thinking wistfully of how nice it would be to always be like this.

Together. The two of them, side by side.

For as long as possible.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey, everyone! This chapter we're back to Arlua. I do want to know what everyone thought of Natsuki's little trip to Ikebukuro though! I really wish more people had reviewed!**

**Ah, well, I still need a name for the company! Right now all I have it a suggestion from Shan-kun that I'll probably end up using. What do you guys think of SupportTech?**

**Huge thanks to Shan-kun for feedback, and for advice on writing Erika better next time!**

**Disclaimer: If I haven't managed to buy Durarara by this point in my story, I'm probably not going to get it by the time I finish…**

**This is the morning after Natsuki's trip to visit Shizuo.**

Chapter 9

"Arlua!" Natsuki called as her friend walked past her office. "Hey, I've got a request for you!"

"If it's Orihara, tell him if he can't go a full day without seeing me, he's pathetic," the technician called back as she continued walking, not even pausing to glance at Natsuki.

"Arlua, that's not what it is," Natsuki protested. Arlua's footsteps in the hallway paused, then resumed. A moment later, Arlua peered into the office warily.

"If it's not Orihara, what is it?" she asked.

"I thought you might like a break from dealing with that particular brand of insanity," Natsuki replied. "Just got a hack request. Care to mess with the firewall of one of our rival support companies to get their files on their clients?" Arlua didn't hesitate.

"Absolutely," she agreed. It had been a little over six months since her last hacking job, and she couldn't wait to get into the security of a solid network again. Of course, since it was a rival company's network, she would have to hack from on-site so suspicion wouldn't immediately fall on her company. It would look like an independent hack if she went in person, so the intrusion wouldn't be traced back to her company's network.

"All right. Here you go. Have fun, and don't get caught," Natsuki advised, tapping a command into her computer. A moment later, the local printer on her desk hummed and spat out a sheet of paper with the details of the job. Arlua hurried over and took the paper.

"Thanks, Natsuki. I'll let you know how it goes, okay?" she said. Natsuki smiled and waved. Not that Arlua, already halfway out the door, saw the gesture.

Six hours later, Arlua left the building that housed the network she had been hacking and made her way calmly down the street toward the station. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Natsuki's number.

"Arlua? Done already?" Natsuki's voice greeted her on the other end of the line.

"Not quite. I got most of it but my download of their files got cut. They found my hack, froze the network. I had to leave before they got around to tracing which machine the intrusion originated from," Arlua reported. "I got a flash drive with most of the files – yes, I downloaded them in batches like I was supposed to, so the files shouldn't be corrupted by the cut, except the one that was loading at the time."

"Perfect. You heading home?" Natsuki asked.

"Yeah, but I feel like being extra careful tonight. Just in case they traced me before they froze the network. I'll head home the long way," she answered, still outwardly calm despite the adrenaline beginning to race through her as she thought about the possibility of having already been identified. They could have someone following her now, waiting for an opportunity to get the flash drive she had stored the files on.

"All right. Be careful," her friend told her. "I know you can handle yourself; this isn't the first time you've had to ditch a download."

"And I'm sure it won't be the last. Rivals are getting good," Arlua commented. "Well, I'll drop the drive off in the safe box tomorrow sometime, okay?"

"Sounds good. Let me know when you get home, okay? So I know you're safe?"

"I'll be fine. Want to go to Ikebukuro tomorrow?"

"No. I just went last night," Natsuki informed her briskly. Before Arlua could reply, she heard the tone that told her the call had been ended. Arlua frowned at her phone for a moment before sliding it into her pocket. She shrugged; sometimes Natsuki had something come up, and sometimes she just decided she was done talking without any warning at all. Arlua was used to it.

She shrugged again and headed for the station. Time to throw off any potential followers.


	11. Chapter 10

**Yay! Chapter 10!**

**Erika Karisawa's New Sidekick: so you didn't see Natsuki's obsession coming? Neither did I, when I started writing this story. It just sort of happened. As for the hack being significant…have some bonus points just for noting that!**

**Shan-kun: I'm so glad you're still enjoying my story! **

**Please please please everyone help me name the company Arlua and NAtsuki work for!**

**Disclaimer: If you've gotten this far and haven't realized: no, I do not own Durarara. I only own Natsuki and Arlua.**

Chapter 10

Arlua walked down the streets of Ikebukuro the morning after her interrupted hack. She had been fairly confident she hadn't been followed – or if she had been, she had lost them – so she wasn't in a rush to drop off the flash drive.

She ended up near the Russian sushi place that she knew Shinra and Shizuo and their associates frequented. It was Saturday, so there were even more people than usual out and about. Arlua watched the crowd mill about, scanning the people for anyone she knew.

"Hey. Are you looking for someone?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Arlua turned and saw an unfamiliar man with brown hair and a dark gray cap standing a few feet away from where she was leaning against the wall of a building. Arlua hesitated.

"Not really. I was just looking to see if there was anyone I knew over there," she answered, nodding toward the bustling street. "I know some people who like eat at that sushi place sometimes."

"Oh! Is it Shizu-chan?!" another unfamiliar voice demanded, this one belonging to a girl dressed in gray who was peering around the man in the hat.

"Who?" Arlua frowned.

"Shizu-chan!"

"Who's Shizu-chan?" she asked the man, since it didn't look like she would get a reply out of the girl that would make any sense.

"Shizuo Heiwajima. Erika calls him Shizu-chan," he explained. Arlua blinked.

"She calls Shizuo…Shizu-chan?"

"So you do know him?! There was a girl here two days ago on a date with him, too! I bet Izaya's going to be upset when he finds out how many girls are coming to see Shizu-Chan!" the girl chirped. Arlua turned to the man.

"Does this girl need to be on some sort of medication or something?" Then the rest of the girl's words registered, and Arlua focused on her again. "Wait, Izaya? You mean Orihara?" The girl nodded so energetically that Arlua wondered if her head was going to be nodded right off her neck.

"Yes!" the girl – the man had called her Erika, hadn't he? – cheered. "Shizu-chan and Izaya are perfect for each other!" Arlua looked at the man.

"No, really. Medication. If she's not on some already, she needs to be. She's delusional. Shi and Orihara hate each other. Shi practically blew his top when I mentioned Orihara and his insanity. And Orihara thinks Shi is a monster," Arlua snapped.

"Shi?! You mean you have your own nickname for Shizu-chan, too?! Just like Izaya! Are you Izaya's rival for Shizu-chan?!" Erika squealed. Arlua stared at the girl, a slow understanding dawning on her. The technician didn't bother trying to stop herself from voicing her new revelation.

"You are even crazier than Orihara."

"Aw, Lu-chan, you make it sound like you don't like me!" Arlua whirled. Izaya Orihara stood there, hands in his jacket pockets, head tilted as he regarded her, trademark smirk firmly in place. She turned back around to face the man and Erika. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, then looked over her shoulder. He was still there. Arlua felt her shoulders sag in resignation.

"I don't like you, Orihara. I think you're insane. _Straightjacket&paddedroom_, remember?" she muttered.

"You know him?" the man murmured.

"Unfortunately. You?" Arlua replied.

"We went to high school together," he replied.

"Was he as crazy then as he is now?" she asked. He nodded. "I'm so sorry for you," she said sincerely.

"Talking about people when they're right there is rude, ne?" Izaya grinned, stepping up beside Arlua. The technician stepped sideway, away from the information broker. "Dotachin, you're usually more polite than that!" Arlua blinked.

"Dotachin?" she echoed. The man scowled.

"My name is Kyohei Kadota," he growled through clenched teeth. "But those two keep calling me 'Dotachin.'" He pointed at Izaya and Erika. Arlua sighed.

"At least I'm not the only one with a stupid nickname," she muttered.

"Aw, Lu-chan!" Izaya complained.

"Your nickname isn't stupid! It's cute!" Erika exclaimed.

"Just like you, _Lu-chan_," Izaya added. Arlua rolled her eyes.

"I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be crazier than Orihara," Arlua sighed. Kadota nodded, understanding the sentiment.

"And just think: Walker isn't even here," he replied.

"You mean there's _another _one?" Arlua shuddered. Without warning, Izaya slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her sideways. She yelped in surprise as she stumbled, then yelped again when a trash can slammed into the pavement where she and Izaya had been standing. "Shi!" Arlua looked over her shoulder – she would have turned around, but Izaya still had an arm around her shoulders – and saw Shizuo snarling as he advanced down the street.

"IIIIZAAAAYAAA," he bellowed.

"I wouldn't throw anything else if I were you, Shizu-chan," Izaya called cheerfully. "You don't want to hit Lu-chan, do you?" Arlua hadn't realized it was possible for her blond friend's expression to get even darker than it already was. But it did.

"Let go of her," he growled, ripping a nearby street sign out of the ground. Izaya tutted.

"But if I do that, Shizu-chan will hurt me," he replied. Arlua tried to move away from the information broker to give Shizuo a clear shot, but his grip was too strong.

"I hope he does. Then _I_ won't have to deal with you," she muttered. "Let go of me, you little cretin." Izaya laughed and released her, then darted behind her as the street sign Shizuo had torn up came hurtling past, barely missing Arlua. Izaya smirked.

"Careful, Shizu-chan! You wouldn't want to hurt your little friend," he chirped. Before the blond could reply, the information broker whirled and ran down the street. Shizuo roared and charged after him.

"Damn flea! You won't get away!"

Arlua stared after them for a moment, then sighed and turned back to Kadota and Erika. Kadota had an expression of mingled exasperation and irritation on his face. Erika was focused completely on the receding figures of the informant and the bodyguard, eyes shining.

A distant yell of "IZAAAAAYAAA!" reached them.

"Shizu-chan is pursuing Izaya again!" she exclaimed. "When he catches him, Shizu-chan's going to pound him so hard that-"

"That sounds so wrong when she says it like that," Arlua whispered in horror, fighting to ignore the rest of what the girl was saying. Kadota nodded, a grimace twisting his features. Arlua sighed and checked her phone for the time. She really should head back to Shinjuku soon; she still had to drop off that flash drive. "It was nice to meet you, Kadota. I have an errand I need to run," she explained as she started walking down the street.

"Wait! I never caught your actual name," he called after her. She paused, looked over her shoulder.

"I'm Arlua Teki," she told him. Then she turned and continued walking away. Kadota turned to Erika, who was still staring after Shizuo and Izaya.

None of them saw the man who made his way through the crowd, attention seeming to wander over everyone, but in reality fixed on the technician's back.


	12. Chapter 11

**Shan-Kun: thank you so much for helping me with Erika's behavior last chapter. **

**At this point, since there have been no other suggestions, I'm probably going with SupportTech for the name of the company Arlua works for.**

**Disclaimer: I own only Arlua, Natsuki, and a new OC who will be introduced this chapter. See if you can guess who it will be before the name is revealed! **

Chapter 11

Arlua stepped out of the station in Shinjuku and started toward her company's building. She glanced around, trying not to be too obvious. She'd had an itch between her shoulder blades since she left Kadota in Ikebukuro, like someone was watching her. The technician was conscious of the flash drive in her pocket as she walked. That little flash drive held the files she had managed to get before her hack was detected. She should have taken it in first thing that morning.

_But no, I was too confident. I thought I hadn't been followed, and since there was no trouble last night, I figured I could relax,_ she thought. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Arlua turned a corner and subtly looked back as she did. Several people had made the whole trip from Ikebukuro with her and had followed her out of the station: a man in a suit, a woman who looked like she hadn't slept in a week, a teenaged boy in jeans and a T-shirt. Was one of them following her on purpose, or were all three just coincidences?

Arlua wasn't taking chances. She considered taking a route to the building that would throw off any pursuers, but decided against it. It she took too long, they could just decide to beat her to the building; after all, she had to go there sometime.

_Or they could go to my house and wait for me there if they don't think I plan on dropping the drive off yet,_ she realized.

"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice called. Arlua paused and looked back. The teenager who had ridden with her from Ikebukuro jogged toward her.

"Can I help you?" the technician asked politely. The young man shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I'm looking for a friend of mine who lives around here. I wanted to pay her a surprise visit, but I don't know how to get to her house," he explained. "Could you give me directions?" Arlua considered for a moment. She didn't want to make any detours, but she also remembered over three years ago, when she had been just learning how to navigate Shinjuku.

"Sure. Where does your friend live?" she asked. He told her, and she smiled. "That's not too far from my apartment. I'll show you how to get there." The boy grinned.

"Really? Thank you!" he exclaimed. Arlua laughed.

"It's this way," she told him. Together they started walking. The man in the suit, Arlua noted, kept going the direction she had originally been going – toward the company's building. The woman who looked like she hadn't slept in a week was watching the two of them tiredly, but didn't follow them. There was no sign of her fifteen minutes later as Arlua and the boy approached the neighborhood where the technician lived. "Now, where did you say your friend lived?" she asked. The boy didn't answer right away.

"I'm sorry, I just realized I didn't ask you what your name was," he said instead of replying to her question.

"I'm Arlua Teki," she told him. "And you-"

"I thought so," he murmured. She frowned. What was he talking about. "I thought that's what you told that man back in Ikebukuro, but I couldn't be sure. So I decided that even if you weren't, I'd at least make sure I was in the right area. And then, if you lied about who you were, and went to the house I know she lives in, I would know you were her." Arlua took a step away from the boy, apprehension churning in her stomach.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you looking for your friend?" she reminded him. He nodded calmly, an oddly serene expression settling over his features. His black eyes were deep and dark, fathomless shadows as he gazed at her. He reached up and brushed his brown-black hair out of those inky eyes.

"Yes, I am. And I found her," he said quietly. "I said it was a surprise visit, right?" He took a step toward her. "I'm known as Malcolm, and I've been watching you. It was difficult to wait for the perfect time to bring this up, but since there's no one around at the moment, I'll be confiscating that flash drive in your pocket. Surprise." Arlua glanced around. It was true. The whole way from the station, there had been one or two people in sight. Now there was no one but them. The technician and the teenager who knew about the drive.

_I can't give up the flash drive. I need to deliver it to the company or I'll be in trouble. He's between me and my house, no way I'll get past him and inside. _

_I need somewhere to run to._

_Somewhere secure, and closer than the company's building._

Arlua bolted.

The boy watched her run away from him calmly for a moment. He knew he could beat her to her company's building; he would take the shorter route, since it looked like she was taking the slightly longer way. He smiled serenely to himself and set off at a brisk jog.

Let her wear herself out. By the time she reached her company to hand over the drive, he would be waiting for her.

Arlua keyed in the security code, opened the door, and slipped into the room, which was lit by the wall of windows overlooking the city street below. She sighed and walked over to the couch that rested off to one side of the room, ignoring the desk and the computer on it. She kicked off her shoes and carefully lowered herself onto the couch, exhausted from her run.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive. Her eyelids grew heavy as she wondered how long she should wait here before going to deliver it. How long before Malcolm and his strange calm gave up?

She yawned and lay back. Sleep washed over her, sweeping away her worries. For now, the security code on the door would keep him out. Besides, who would look for her here?


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm on a roll! Actually, I just couldn't wait to write this next section.**

**Thank you loads to Shan-kun! I hadn't planned on having Namie show up just yet, but that would be interesting if she'd been there…I might work that in. Heheh.**

**So did anyone besides Shan-kun recognize the place Arlua ran to?**

**Sections enclosed by apostrophes like 'this' are what people are typing in the chatroom. I apologize ahead of time if the chatroom stuff is weird. I haven't written their online conversations before…**

**Disclaimer: Arlua, Natsuki, and Malcolm are mine, but that's all.**

Chapter 12

Izaya paused as he entered his office. He noticed a pair of shoes next to the couch and eased closer, leaving the lights off. He blinked in surprise, then felt a smirk spreading over his face.

_She's gotten very comfortable here,_ he mused, recognizing the person laying on his couch, sound asleep. _How interesting._ The informant tilted his head curiously as he noticed something clutched in her hand. He reached out and carefully eased the small object out of her grip and turned it over in his hands.

"A flash drive?" he murmured. He shrugged and went over to his computer. He was about to plug in the device when something occurred to him: had she messed with his computer before she decided to nap on his couch? Deciding she wouldn't have stayed long enough to fall asleep if she had come to screw up his computer, he shrugged and put the flash drive in. "Tut tut, Lu-chan. What have you been up to?" Izaya opened the first file. "Client files? These aren't from your company. Did you steal these?" he wondered, glancing appraisingly at the still-sleeping technician. He glanced through a few more of the files, then, with another glance at the technician – this one mischievous rather than evaluating – he made a new folder on the drive and put all of the files into it before setting a password on the folder.

Then he ejected the little device slipped it into his pocket.

_Now, what to do about her?_ he mused. Smirking to himself, he logged onto his usual chatroom. To his satisfaction, Setton was logged in, but no one else.

Kanra: 'I just love unexpected visitors!'

Setton: 'Hello, Kanra. Did you find a surprise when you got home this evening?'

Kanra: 'Yep! Little Lu-chan needed a place to stay, so she came to me! Isn't that cute?'

Setton: 'Lu-chan?'

Kanra: 'Yep!'

Kanra: 'You know, you might know her, Setton. She's a computer technician in Shinjuku, but she visits Ikebukuro a lot.'

Kanra: 'She's friends with that monster over there.'

Setton: 'Arlua?'

Kanra: 'That's her! I thought you might know her!'

Setton: 'Why is she with you?'

Kanra: 'Because Lu-chan came to me for help, of course! She's sleeping in my office.'

Setton: 'I'm coming to get her.'

_Setton has left the chatroom._

Izaya sat back and smiled to himself. He wondered how much the technician knew about the person who had just decided to come get her.

Arlua woke abruptly and bolted upright. Her hand flew to her pocket. The flash drive! The pocket was empty. She glanced around frantically. Where was it?

"Ah, you're finally awake, Lu-chan." Arlua tensed, gaze darting to the man seated at the desk across the room. Izaya grinned at her. "Whatever could you be looking for so urgently that you didn't even notice I was here?" Arlua scowled.

"You. You took my flash drive, didn't you?" she demanded. "Give it back!" He laughed and pulled the drive out of his pocket.

"Oh, this? Was this important?" he asked. Arlua's scowl deepened.

"Yes! Now give it to me," she ordered, getting to her feet. He tutted and curled his fingers around the little device, hiding it from view. "That's mine!"

"Ah, but it's not really yours, is it, Lu-chan?" he pointed out. "At least, what's on it isn't," he added thoughtfully. Arlua's head dropped into her hands. Of course he had looked at what was on it. He was Izaya Orihara. "So, Lu-chan, what scared you so badly that you came to me for protection?" he asked.

"I didn't come to you for protection," she snapped. "I just needed to borrow your security code as an extra measure to keep Malcolm away." Izaya tilted his head slightly.

"Malcolm? Did you break up with your boyfriend, Lu-chan?" he asked. Arlua ground her teeth.

"You are an idiot," she snapped. "I hacked a rival company's network, okay? They sent this random teenager who called himself Malcolm to get that flash drive from me. Now give it back. I need to deliver it." She advanced on the information broker, who still sat in his chair behind his desk, smirking.

"Oh, that Malcolm. He's pretty well known here in Shinjuku, and even in Ikebukuro. If this flash drive is valuable enough that he was sent to retrieve it, I could probably sell it," he mused. Arlua scowled.

"I won't let you do that," she snapped. Izaya laughed.

"And just how would you stop me, Lu-chan?" he asked. She hesitated. "That's right, you can't. But since you're so much fun…" He tossed the flash drive. The technician snatched the little object out of the air.

"You didn't erase it, did you?" she demanded. Izaya chuckled.

"No, I didn't. Everything is there. You just have to know how to get to it," he told her. "It's Sunday morning, by the way, Lu-chan." Arlua scowled and retrieved her shoes. "Oh, and you should know: I only use a password for one thing at a time, so I had to change the one on my computer."

"What?" Izaya just flapped a hand at her dismissively.

"Have a nice day, Lu-chan," he said. Arlua knew she'd been dismissed, and she knew she wouldn't get anything even remotely resembling an explanation out of him, so she put her shoes on and headed for the door. She opened it and stepped out, not looking where she was going. She looked up at the last moment and saw a woman in a black bodysuit and yellow helmet who had apparently been about to open the same door. Arlua crashed into the other woman, who staggered.

There was a thump as the yellow helmet hit the ground. Arlua regained her balance and reached down to pick up the helmet. She held it out to the person she'd just stumbled into, whose outfit she had recognized immediately.

"Sorry about that, Celty. What are…you…" Arlua stared. "Celty?" Where the woman's head should have been was just a curl of black smoke. "What…?"


	14. Chapter 13

**Okay! Here we go! Next chapter!**

**Thank you to Shan-kun for continuing to review!**

**Since I've had no other suggestions and am too lazy to come up with a name myself, Arlua and Natsuki now officially work for SupportTech. **

**Note: I decided to use 'this' format for Celty's typing as well as the chatroom stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I own Natsuki, Arlua, Malcolm, Supai (because I don't have enough OCs in this story yet!), and that's it.**

Chapter 13

Black smoke curled up from the place where Celty's head should have been.

"What…?" Arlua gaped at the headless figure, yellow helmet forgotten in her grasp. "Celty…you…don't…"

"You didn't know she was headless?" Izaya's voice laughed from behind her. Arlua took a step back. The black-clad figure whipped out her PDA and tapped away at it for a moment before showing the screen to the astonished technician.

'I'm sorry you found out like this,' the screen read.

"Three years, and you didn't tell her?" Izaya tutted. "Celty, Celty, Celty. How horrible, to lie for so long." Celty tapped on her PDA again, then held it out.

'Shut up,' it read. More typing. 'Arlua, I'm sorry I never told you.'

"I understand," Arlua said faintly. "Really…"

'Are you all right?' Celty asked through the device. 'You look pale.'

"I just found out that Shinra's roommate that he's always talking about is headless. I think I have a right to be pale," the technician replied. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She studied the black smoke for a moment. "So that's why you always use the PDA to communicate."

"Kind of hard to talk without a mouth," Izaya agreed. Arlua glanced over her shoulder.

"Shut up, Izzy," she snapped. Then she turned back to Celty.

'Izzy?' the screen read. Arlua frowned.

"What?"

'You just called him Izzy,' was the reply. Arlua blinked and reread the message. Then she turned around to look at Izaya. He was smirking.

"Aw, Lu-chan decided to give me a nickname, too? How cute!~" he laughed. Arlua felt her cheeks heat up and glared at him.

"I did not! It just came out! I wouldn't give you a nickname, you cretin!" she spluttered. He tilted his head.

"Why not, Lu-chan?" he asked. Arlua glared and told herself the warmth in her cheeks was from anger.

"You give nicknames to people you're close to. Or normal people do. You apparently give nicknames to everyone. But I wouldn't give you a nickname because I don't like you. At all," she growled. Before he could reply, she whirled and stalked out of the room, past Celty. The headless woman showed the screen of her PDA to the information broker. He read the message and laughed.

"Don't worry; that one is too interesting to hurt just yet," he replied. "You should catch up with the technician, though, seeing as how she has your helmet." Celty tensed, then turned and darted after Arlua. Izaya watched them go. His smirk stayed in place until he was sure they were gone. Then his expression took on a slightly more thoughtful look. "Interesting," he murmured.

Arlua was in trouble, and it wasn't the first time, or she would have been much more afraid. Very interesting. He wondered how often she got into this sort of trouble.

Arlua stood on the sidewalk outside of the building Izaya's office was in. She paused there, wondering where to go. It was Sunday, so there wouldn't be anyone at her company, SupportTech.

_Except maybe Malcolm,_ she corrected herself grimly. _And he knows where I live, so he might be there… Crap. Where can I go?_

Someone tapped Arlua on the shoulder. She turned and saw Celty standing in the shadow of the building. She held out her PDA.

'Can I have my helmet back?' she requested. Arlua blinked in surprise and looked down. She hadn't realized she was still holding it. She handed the bright yellow object to the headless rider.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to walk off with it," the technician apologized. Celty took the helmet and put it on before responding.

'It's all right.' After a moment, she asked, 'Why were you with Izaya all night?' Arlua felt the warmth in her face trying to return and fought it back as much as she could.

"I just needed a room with a security lock. I couldn't go to SupportTech and I couldn't go home. Izazya's office was just the first place I thought of," she explained.

'Why did you need the extra protection?'

"I hacked the wrong network, so they hired some guy to find me and get the flash drive I downloaded the files onto. Occupational hazard, I guess," the technician explained with a shrug.

'They hired someone?' Celty repeated.

"Yeah. The kid called himself Malcolm."

'Black hair, black eyes?'

"Yeah. Why?"

'Was there a brown-haired boy with him?' Arlua frowned.

"No, he was alone as far as I could tell. But why, Celty?" she demanded.

'Malcolm is fairly well-known in Ikebukuro. He works with an informant named Supai,' was the answer. 'They're dangerous. Stay away from them.'

"Yeah, because the people I see on a daily basis aren't dangerous at all," Alrua drawled. Celty shook her head…helmet? Arlua frowned at the intensity of the motion as the other woman typed furiously.

'These two aren't like Shizuo or Simon. Malcolm doesn't have emotions, and Supai shoots to kill.'

"All right, all right. I'll be careful. But Malcolm knows where I live, and where I work. I have to drop off the flash drive before he catches up with me again," she added grimly.

'I can take you to your company's building,' Celty offered. 'Then I can take you back to Ikebukuro if you think it wouldn't be safe to go home tonight.' Arlua smiled.

"Thanks, Celty. I'm sure once I drop off the drive, I'll be fine."


	15. Chapter 14

**My plot bunnies are alive and so am I! sorry it's been so long!**

**A huge thank you to Shan-kun for reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: I only own my four OCs.**

Chapter 14:

As Celty pulled up outside SupportTech's building, Arlua's phone buzzed, alerting her to a new text message, which she ignored. The technician got off the black motorcycle and thanked the headless rider still perched on it. Arlua walked around the side of the building to the side door and typed in the security code to unlock it. She stepped into the dark building and felt along the wall for the light switch. Her fingers brushed it, and she flipped it up, illuminating the small side hallway.

The secure drop box for information and such was at the end of the hall, so she strode briskly toward it. The sooner she got this flash drive in that drop box, the sooner she wouldn't have to worry about Malcolm and his informant partner anymore.

Flash drive safely deposited, Arlua turned back toward the door. As she headed down the hall, she remembered the unread text and pulled her phone out. An unrecognized number had sent her a picture and a question. She frowned at her phone screen.

The picture was of Orihara, who somehow managed to look bored and amused at the same time, as if the person who had taken the picture was being incredibly silly in a stupid way rather than an irritating way. It was a rather condescending expression, and one that she would not like to have aimed at her.

The question was: 'Friend of yours?'

Arlua texted back her reply after a moment's thought.

'He's my friend like germs are my friend. Germs might kill you if you come into contact with them, and I try to avoid them. He's the same way.' Arlua considered demanding to know who had sent the message, but she had a sneaking suspicion she already knew. After all, if Malcolm knew her address, why wouldn't he know her cell number? Her phone buzzed again as she left the building, and again as she typed in a different security code on the keypad beside the door, one that would activate the building's extra security and notify Natsuki and the other higher-up technicians that there was something valuable in the drop box.

Arlua checked her phone. One message was from the same number as before. It read 'An excellent analysis. If my business didn't require us to be opponents, I think we could get along pretty well.' The second was from a different number, also one her phone didn't recognize.

'So I'm a germ, Lu-chan? That's a little harsh, don't you think?' The technician scowled. How had he…?

_Information broker,_ she reminded herself, deciding to ignore both messages.

Celty was still parked outside when Arlua returned to the front of the building.

"You know, Celty, on second thought, if you could give me a lift to Ikebukuro that would be fantastic. I have the rest of the day to myself, and people keep pestering me here," the technician said. In reply, the other woman held out a black motorcycle helmet, which Arlua took and put on as she climbed behind her. Celty typed quickly on her PDA, then showed it to Arlua.

'Where to? Shinra's? Shizuo's?'

"Neither. You can just drop me off at the Russian sushi place," the technician replied. Celty hesitated. "I'll be fine. I just need somewhere to think, and I don't want to bother Shi or Shinra." After a moment, Celty nodded.

_All of that is true, _Arlua told herself firmly. She did want to think, and she didn't want to bother her friends. But she also wasn't saying what else she was planning to do. She wanted to find out as much as she could about Malcolm and his informant partner, Supai, just in case someone else hired them to come after her in the future.

Since Celty knew about them, and Malcolm had followed her from Ikebukuro, they were probably based there rather than Shinjuku.

And since they were teenagers…they had to be in high school, right?

An hour later, Arlua sat in her favorite section of the Russian sushi resuarant with a list of every high school in Ikebukuro. It might take a while to visit them all, but she would find them. Malcolm and Supai weren't common names, after all.

Her cell phone buzzed. It was one of the unrecognized numbers from earlier. Izaya's.

'Looking for your boyfriend? Try Raira. –Izzy'

Arlua scowled at her phone.

_What is he talking about?!_ she thought. _I don't have a – oh._ She remembered Izaya's question when she had first mentioned Malcolm's name: _"Malcolm? Did you break up with your boyfriend, Lu-chan?"_ The technician frowned. Raira…Raira…Her gaze landed on her list. Of course. Raira Academy. Shizuo, Shinra, Kadota, and Izaya had all gone there. Of course Malcolm would be there.

'Obviously I need to disinfect my phone,' she texted back. She definitely wasn't smiling when she hit send, and she definitely wasn't positive he would see her reply, recognize what she meant, and laugh. She wasn't. And she wasn't glad he had given her that tip, saving her a lot of time and effort. She was irritated that he had known – or guessed – what she was up to.

The technician got up, paid for the sushi she had ordered, and left. As she crossed the street to the fountain park, she dialed Shizuo's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Shi. It's Arlua. Can you give me directions from that Russian sushi place to Raira Academy?" she asked.

"I'll do better than that. Hang on for about ten minutes and I'll take you there myself," was the reply. Arlua opened her mouth to protest, but he hung up before she could say anything.

That was just like Shi, she sighed. Agreeing to help before asking questions. She shook her head and sat on one of the benches around the fountain, reflecting that this was becoming their usual meeting point.


	16. Chapter 15

**Yay! Plot bunnies still alive!**

**Thank you, Shan-kun, for your wonderful review!**

**My lovely readers – I know you exist because you keep following my story and I'm getting hits on the new chapters – please please please review! **

**Disclaimer: introducing a new OC but that's it. *sigh* unfortunately I don't own DRRR.**

Tania Yuuki, an instructor at Raira Academy, sighed as she left the building. It was Sunday, but she had stopped by to collect something her brother, a student at the same school, had forgotten on Friday.

_I don't see why he couldn't get it himself. Just because he's working today…_ she thought, glaring at the offending item, which was draped over her arm and happened to be her brother's uniform jacket. _And he was working yesterday, too. What on earth is he doing that it's taking him two days? He was just supposed to fetch some stupid-_

Tania sighed and glanced around, frowning. Someone was nearby…there. A tall blond man with blue tinted glasses, wearing a bartender's uniform was walking toward the school with a brunette woman. One of them Tania recognized. The other she felt like she probably should.

"Hello," the teacher called out in the distant-yet-polite tone that was her usual way of addressing people. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for someone," the woman called. Tania hid her frown behind her typical reserved expression.

"There's no one here; it's Sunday," she pointed out coolly.

"True, but we were hoping someone might be here who could help us. The person we're looking for is a student here," the woman told her. Tania let her frown show in just the slightest downward curve of her lips.

"I'm afraid student information is not something we at Raira Academy give out. If you have a complaint about a student's behavior, then please feel free to come back on Monday during normal office hours and file the proper report. Without the bodyguard," Tania replied calmly, nodding to the blond man.

"What?" the woman followed Tania's gaze to her companion, then blinked as if in surprise. "Oh, you mean Shi? He's not my bodyguard. And I don't even know for sure that the person I'm looking for is a student here. All I know is his first name, and the name of one of his friends," she told her. Tania sighed.

"Don't try that. I recognize Heiwajima, and I know he's a bodyguard. So don't try to tell me he's not. But…I suppose I can tell you if we have any students with the names you're looking for, but many students share names, as I am sure you know," the teacher replied.

"Malcolm and Supai," the woman stated calmly, ignoring the comment about her companion. Tania tensed, but she kept her expression neutral.

"Looking for those two can be hazardous to your health," Taniai informed them, letting her tone cool further. The man – Shizuo Heiwajima, who Tania never thought she would encounter this close – frowned at her.

"You know them, then," he stated. Tania tilted her head.

"Yes, I know them, and if you cross them, I am afraid I won't know you for much longer," she said quietly. "Malcolm is-"

"Emotionless, yes, I've heard. And Supai shoots to kill," the woman interrupted. "I want to have a chat with those two. Since you seem to know them, could you tell me how to contact them? Not as a teacher at their school but just as one person to another?"

"I'm not the informant. You'll want Supai for that," Tania murmured. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you a little about them. It would be their own fault for letting themselves be traced to the school." Tania watched them closely without appearing to notice them at all, a skill she had perfected years before. Shizuo looked irritated, but the woman…

"My name is Arlua Teki. Malcolm and Supai have been trying to get something from me. I'd like to know more about them in case I run into them again," the woman said, her expression interested but not nervous. Tania held out her hand, and the woman – Arlua Teki, Arlua Teki, where had she heard that before…? – shook it.

_Malcolm and Supai have…oh. That's who she is. But why is she with him?_ she thought, glancing at Shizuo again. Her mask slipped a bit as she caught the brown eyes behind the tinted glasses watching her.

_He's supposed to be a monster, but I don't think those nice brown eyes are really the eyes a monster would have,_ she thought absently.

"I'm Tania Yuuki. Unfortunately, my brother is out of town this weekend," she said briskly. Then she barely held back a flinch, but her arms moved just enough to dislodge the jacket she was carrying. She didn't notice as it fell.

_Crap. I slipped up._ The brown eyes were flicking between her and the woman he had come with. Maybe he hadn't noticed…

"Your brother?" Tania hid a scowl as Teki caught her slip. She'd have to act like she didn't care if people knew, despite the fact that Malcolm being her brother was not one of the things she had been planning to tell them. Tania forced herself to ignore Heiwajima and focus on the woman.

"Yeah. Malcolm Yuuki is my brother. If I'm not mistaken, you're the technician he was supposed to be retrieving a flash drive from this weekend. Are you the reason he's not back yet?" She kept her tone businesslike, as if this was a conversation she had regularly. In reality, though, if it hadn't been for those nice brown eyes – which were rather attractive with his blond hair – Tania was certain she would not have let it slip that she was Malcolm's sister.

_Wait, did I just…no. This has to stop._ Tania shook herself and tried to focus on Teki's reply.

"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. If he got held up it's his own fault for underestimating me. And maybe underestimating one of my clients," she said simply. Tania nodded, outwardly calm but inwardly trying to think of a way to get rid of them. Specifically Heiwajima.

"Well, like I said, it's Malcolm Yuuki. Supai's last name is Orihara. I'm sure if you've traced them here you can find everything you want on them with their full names. So if you don't mind…" Tania didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she strode briskly down the street, trying to ignore the way her arm tingled when she accidentally bumped it against that damn distracting bodyguard. She was so absorbed in making her escape that she didn't notice she was leaving the jacket behind,and she certainly didn't notice how both Heiwajima and Teki both froze and exchanged astonished glances at her words.


	17. Chapter 16

**Thanks to Shan-kun as always for reviews! Anyone else catch the plot points at the end of last chapter?**

**Disclaimer: Tania, Arlua, Malcolm, Supai, and Natsuki are mine. Everyone else is a DRRR character, which I unfortunately do not own.**

Arlua didn't notice when the teacher – Tania Yuuki, she'd said her name was – left in a hurry. Shizuo noticed, but only because the woman had brushed past him in her hurry and in doing so managed to distract him from his shock at hearing that name in connection with something else Arlua was up to.

Orihara. How many of them were there? Izaya and his sisters Shizuo already knew, but who the hell was Supai Orihara? And why was Arlua looking for him?

"So Supai's an Orihara. Wonder if he's any relation to Izzy…" Arlua murmured absently, not really paying attention to the fact that she was speaking out loud.

"Izzy? Arlua, what the hell is going on here?" The bodyguard was beginning to regret not asking a few questions before he walked the technician to Raira Academy. Arlua didn't answer right away, instead taking a moment to process her thoughts. Once she had collected herself and managed to focus on her surroundings, she turned to her blond friend.

"Look, Shi, I got another hack request a couple days ago. The company I hacked didn't want me to turn in the information I got, so they hired a guy who called himself Malcolm to fetch the flash drive I downloaded everything to. I had a run-in with him, and had to hide last night, and then Celty came to deliver me to SupportTech to drop it off. She said Malcolm worked with a guy named Supai. Since Malcolm is a teenager, I decided to try some schools to see if I could find them. They might be sent after me in the future," she explained rapidly, the words pouring out of her mouth. The former bartender scowled and clenched his fists. Arlua was his friend, and he hated the idea of anyone being hired to go after her for any reason.

"So, what, you got lucky and the first school you picked turned out to be the right one?" Shizuo demanded suspiciously. Arlua was good – she retrieved digital information for SupportTech fairly frequently – but not that good.

"Izzy tipped me off," she replied, tone resigned. Shizuo frowned. From what she was saying,

"So I get that this other Orihara and his friend were hired to go after you, but who the hell is Izzy?" Shizuo growled, jaw clenched. Arlua blinked.

"Izzy? Who…" She paled, then scowled.

"You just said 'Izzy' tipped you off," Shizuo snapped, his confusion eclipsing his anger momentarily. Arlua didn't mention many people. She didn't interact with many people outside of her professional capacity. But when she met someone new, she usually mentioned them and gave a brief explanation of who they were. So for her to mention someone new, and not explain who they were…it wasn't like her.

"Damn that cretin," she muttered. Shizuo blinked. The technician hardly ever swore.

"Arlua?" he began, more concerned than confused or angry now. Cretin? Was this 'Izzy' bothering her? The technician sighed.

"I accidentally started calling Orihara 'Izzy'," she explained wearily. Shizuo gaped at her, shocked once more.

"The flea? The flea tipped you off?" The blond scowled once more, anger creeping in at the mere thought of his enemy.

"Yeah. Malcolm was pestering him I guess, considering the texts I got. So he probably gave me the tip just to get back at Mr. Emotionless," she sighed.

"Texts? From-"

"Malcolm and Orihara," Arlua answered, careful to use the most impersonal form of address she could. As she spoke, her phone buzzed. She pulled the device out of her pocket and checked the incoming text. Unknown number, not Malcolm's or Izaya's. She frowned and opened the message.

'I promise never to take a job against you again if you will do me one favor.' Arlua considered for a moment, ignoring Shizuo's tight-fisted frustration for an instant as she replied.

'What favor?'

The reply came almost immediately.

'CALL OFF YOUR GERM'

**Sorry for the short chapter this time, but I like cliffhangars. Bonus points to anyone who can guess who this new text is from!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Anyone remember the plot points from two chapters ago? One of them is gonna show up again.**

**Thank you to Shan-kun and Erika Karisawa's New Sidekick for reviews!**

**Disclaimer: if you don't know who I own and who I don't by now, I don't know how me telling you again is gonna help.**

Arlua stared at her phone for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes.

'CALL OFF YOUR GERM.' The words paraded across her closed eyelids.

_So Izzy – no, Orihara, I have to stop calling him Izzy – is 'my germ' now, huh?_ Arlua tried to be amused by the description, but instead she felt a tiny flutter in her stomach, one she tried to ignore. _That's stupid. He's not 'my' anything. Except maybe 'my' source of migraines and frustration._

"Arlua!" Shizuo's voice finally dragged the technician out of her thoughts.

"Hm? What is it, Shi?"

"I thought you were going to stay away from that flea," he snapped. Arlua wondered briefly if she had missed something while she was thinking about the text.

"I decided to take on his stupid challenge," she replied absently.

"That's stupid," Shizuo spat. "You know how dangerous he is. You of all people know what can happen if you're near him." Arlua took a deep breath and looked up at him as calmly as she could.

"I know. But it's not like anyone will connect us personally. I'm the technician who repairs his computer. I don't go through his files, and I don't know anything except what background he has on his desktop. Plus you know I can take care of myself," she reminded him. Shizuo scowled.

"Does he know you're friends with me? He might hurt you to get at me," he growled. Arlua could tell that her friend was infuriated by the very idea, and she decided that it was time to change the topic.

"Orihara finds me too entertaining to hurt just because I'm friends with you," she assured him, wondering if that was really true. Izaya might mess with her to get at Shizuo or vice versa simply because they were both so 'entertaining' to him. Arlua searched for a safe topic, hoping her thoughts didn't show on her face. Her gaze landed on a light blue heap of fabric laying on the ground where the woman had been standing. The jacket Tania Yuuki had been carrying.

_She must have dropped it as she was leaving and not noticed,_ the technician thought. _Odd. She didn't seem like the type to forget things like that._ She leaned down and scooped up the jacket just as her phone buzzed twice.

One text from the unrecognized number: 'PLEASE HURRY. YOUR GERM IS GOING TO GIVE US A TERMINAL DISEASE.'

And a text from Natsuki: 'Got your package. You forgot to leave the password.' Arlua frowned.

_Password…? I didn't put a password on it. Natsuki must have gotten the wrong flash drive. I'd better go back to the building and clear things up…_

"Shi, I think that woman dropped this. She can't have gotten too far. Why don't you take it to her, and I'll head back to Shinjuku? There's a problem at work," Arlua said briskly, typing out a quick reply to Natsuki: 'I'll be there in half an hour. Hold on.'

"What kind of problem? If it's the flea…"

"I can handle Orihara. Though if I ever see him here, I'll call you and you can come beat the crap out of him, okay?" she promised. Her friend nodded sharply.

"Fine. But text me when you get to SupportTech, okay? I don't want you kidnapped by that woman's brother and his Orihara friend," Shizuo told her. Arlua smiled.

"I will. But I think Malcolm and Supai are busy right now," she assured him, thinking of the text messages referring to 'her germ', which was no doubt a reference to her conversation with Malcolm comparing Izaya to a bacterium. Shizuo nodded, then paused.

"How do I find her?" he asked, holding up the jacket to clarify his meaning.

"Miss Yuuki went that way. She can't have gotten far. You should be able to catch her," Arlua said quickly. Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. Natsuki again.

'Seriously. Password. ASAP.'

Arlua rolled her eyes and replied. 'Go download a new company's security weaknesses and exploit them if you're bored while you wait. I'll be there as soon as I can.'

"Sorry, Shi. I have to run." Without waiting for a reply, Arlua glanced around to get her bearings, then trotted off in the direction of the station. She had half an hour to get back to SupportTech. She didn't want to keep Natsuki waiting.

When Arlua reached the building, Natsuki was waiting in her office, flash drive in the USB port already.

"I got notification that you'd dropped it off and came in to copy the data, but I can't even access the drive's files through the command prompt without entering a password. But I have no idea what that password might be," her fellow technician informed her. Arlua frowned.

"I didn't put a password on the drive when I was downloading originally," she said. "Maybe it's part of the files I downloaded. Did you try the password list you gave me for the company's outer firewall?"

"Yeah. And I rehacked their servers remotely and stole every password they have. None of them worked," Natsuki told her. Arlua only half heard her, already trying to figure out who might have put the password on.

"If you could get in from here, why did I have to go in person and spend my weekend running from an emotionless bounty hunter and a homicidal informant?" she muttered.

"Because you know you love going in person. Plus it's harder to trace back to us," was the reply that Arlua didn't really even listen to because she already knew what it would be. Her mind was racing.

_If I didn't do it, and none of the company passwords worked, meaning the company wasn't responsible, either...it had to be…_

"You insane, irritating germ, Izzy," Arlua snarled. Natsuki blinked.

"What?"

"Orihara. He snatched the drive while I was asleep last night. He gave it back this morning, no fuss. He must've locked it up tight," she explained, blue-green eyes flashing in irritation. "He probably thinks it's funny." She pulled out her phone, about to send him an angry text, demanding to know who he thought he was to mess with her work, when she paused.

He was Izaya Orihara. That's who he thought he was to mess with her work. She wouldn't get the password from him but being angry. She'd have to get it herself. So instead of an angry text to the most aggravating man in existence, she pulled up the third unrecognized number. Her reply to the 'PLEASE HURRY. YOUR GERM IS GOING TO GIVE US A TERMINAL DISEASE.' message was short but hopefully got her message across.

'Where do I bring the Germ-Ex?'


	19. Chapter 18

**Thank you to Shan-kun! I'm glad I'm still doing okay with keeping people in character! (and I know I said Shi and Ani first, but this is the plot bunny I felt like doing today.)**

**And thank you to Erika Karisawa's New Sidekick! I am also enjoying Arlua's personality and attitude more as time goes on!**

**Disclaimer: in this chapter, you won't see many of my OC's, which is sad, because they're all I own.**

'Where do I bring the Germ-Ex?' Arlua was moving even as she hit send, heading in the direction of the building Izaya's apartment was in.

'Just be ready with some bleach or something. We'll bring him past where you are.' Now that she had confirmed that she would help the person texting her, the reply she received was much calmer and more businesslike.

'Oh gee, fresh out of bleach. How will you know where I am?' she asked. The technician waited for a moment, and when she didn't receive a reply, she decided that she would rather not know just yet, and continued moving toward Izaya's office. Within a few minutes, she had found a shadowed doorway and stepped into it. Hopefully her unrecognized-number contact would bring the "germ" past her position.

To her astonishment, the calm teenager from before, Malcolm, came running around the corner toward her a few moments later, expression still blank but steps quick and sure. Arlua noticed that he resembled the woman she and Shizuo had talked to at Raira. He didn't even glance around to look for her or any pursuers he might be running from. A moment later came a boy with black hair and light brown eyes, darting and weaving to dodge the projectiles falling around him, which shone in the now-late-morning light.

_Oh great. Orihara's armed,_ she sighed inwardly, not letting herself address him by the accidental nickname even in her own head. An instant later she saw him, following the teen who had to be Supai, launching projectiles at said teen. Arlua stepped into view as all three raced toward her.

"Hey! Flea!" she called. Malcolm and Supai ignored her call, but then, they had been excpecting her to do something. Izaya didn't appear to hear her either, though, which was a problem. "Slow down, you cretin! And be careful where you're-" Arlua yelped as one of the projectiles embedded itself in the wall of the building behind her. A throwing knife. So her yelling had been noticed after all, and someone didn't like it.

The reality of what had just happened crashed over her as the teenagers passed her. He had just thrown a knife at her. Then he ran past her.

"IZAYA ORIHARA YOU STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE AND GET YOUR SLIMY, GERMY, SANITY-DEPRIVED SELF BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" Arlua screeched. The teens flinched, exchanged glances that, on the part of the non-emotionless one at least, surprised and slightly nervous. Then they both bolted. Izaya started to follow them, apparently ignoring the shouting. "DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME, IZZY! I WILL BREAK INTO YOUR OFFICE, HACK YOUR COMPUTER, AND REPLACE EVERY FILE WITH PICTURES OF SHIZUO AND KITTENS!"

Izaya paused and turned, his typical smirk faltering for a moment.

"Ah, Lu-chan, what are you-"

"YOU LOCKED MY FLASH DRIVE WITH SOME STUPID RANDOM PASSWORD. YOU COME HERE AND TELL ME WHAT THAT PASSWORD IS OR SO HELP ME I WILL TURN MY PICK INTO A TASER AND ELECTRIFY YOU UNTIL YOU PASS OUT AND THEN DRAG YOU TO IKEBUKURO AND LET SHIZUO HAVE YOU!" She stalked toward him, scowling fiercely. If she hadn't been so angry – he locked her work, messed around with teenagers to the point that they bothered her to come coral him, and threw a knife at her, and he had the nerve to question her? – she would have been surprised when his eyes widened slightly.

"I didn't realize you were so violent, Lu-chan~," he mused, backing away. She saw the switchblade – heavier and probably just as sharp as the throwing knife that had embedded itself in the wall a minute ago – in his hand and pointed to it.

"Drop. It," she ordered. Izaya smirked.

"Make me," he replied, halting his retreat and facing her, balanced easily. He pointed the blade at her. She stopped moving toward him. "As for your threats, they're cute, but I could avoid all of that by simply killing you now." She considered this for a moment or two, then took another step toward him.

"In broad daylight, in the middle of the street? This isn't Ikebukuro, Izzy. This is Shinjuku," she reminded him. "Not nearly as many places to hide a body, and not nearly as many convenient places to lead someone to kill them."

"Obviously you haven't killed as many people in Shinjuku as I have. There are plenty of places to hide a body and plenty of ways to make sure no one notices a kill," he informed her. "You just have to be more creative. Like with the password. If you thought a little more creatively, you would have it. Just think back to when I returned the flash drive to you."

"Thanks for that little tidbit of wisdom. I'll be sure to implement it," she assured him, stepping toward him again. She was even with the tip of the switchblade now, and he could easily bring it sideways, right into her arm, her side, or her neck. But he didn't.

"Lu-chan, I really can't see you killing anyone. Especially me. Even if you could change your electronic lock pick into a taser and knock me out," he said, trademark smirk firmly in place now. "You can't do that, though." Arlua took one final step, bringing them almost face to face. She was a good five inches shorter than him, she realized. He was still smirking down at her, his brown eyes fixed on her, pinning her in place. "You're too close now, Lu-chan. You can't hurt me without giving me the opportunity to kill you," he informed her.

"You wouldn't kill me. I'm too interesting," she replied, forcing herself to breath evenly. He leaned toward her just the slightest bit, lips parting to speak. "Shut up," she snapped, forestalling whatever he was about to say. "Just quit talking." His smirk widened.

"Make me," he replied. Before she could reconsider – make that before she could consider at all – she leaned forward and stretched upward, pressing her lips to his for a moment. She was close enough that she could feel him stiffen in surprise at the contact, feel his smirk fade for a heartbeat. Then it was back, and she felt that trademark smirk against her mouth.

Arlua hesitated when she felt that smirk fade, but steeled herself when it returned. Without a single whiff of compunction, she shifted her weight slightly and brought her knee up sharply, meaning to knee him in the groin as hard as she could.


	20. Chapter 19

**Thank you to Shan-kun and Erika Karisawa's New Sidekick for reviewing! Shan-kun, yeah, he threw a knife at her. He's Izaya; he does that. E.K.N.S. (hope it's okay to abbreviate that), yeah, she missed. That'll be important next chapter.**

**For now, though, let us rejoin Shizuo back in Ikebukuro.**

**Disclaimer: Tania and the other OCs are mine, but Shizuo's not.**

Shizuo watched Arlua dart off, then sighed and shook his head. He was sure she did the same thing to her coworkers. It was so like her to just dart off with minimal explanation and expect everyone to wait for her to tell them what was going on. Not that he minded. He was still seething over the fact that not just Izaya but some other Orihara was connected to his friend.

Shizuo sighed again and glanced at the jacket in his hands. He would figure out everything else later. For now, he would focus on returning this to that teacher and try not to smash too many objects.

The teacher. Tania Yuuki. Shizuo started walking in the direction she had gone, not paying much attention to his surroundings. She had been so calm, so collected. He admired and envied her self-control, even as it mystified him. How could she face him – she had said she knew who he was, so she had to know his reputation – so how could she face him and show not one speck of fear? Arlua wasn't afraid of him, sure, but she had been wary of him when they first met. Tania had recognized him and wasn't afraid.

Or at least she didn't show it if she was.

"You're following me," observed the calm, cool voice that Shizuo recognized as Tania's. He shook himself and focused on his surroundings. Tania stood in front of him, eyeing him in a way that wasn't fearful or even wary. She seemed…eager? Nervous, maybe, but that didn't seem right either. "Why?"

"Why what?" the bodyguard asked, shaken from his contemplations once more. She had dark, chocolate-brown eyes, and she held his gaze steadily.

"Why are you following me?" she demanded. Shizuo started to offer her the jacket, and she took a step back, her eyes never wavering from his, not even looking at why he was extending his arm toward her. "Don't try anything or I'll shoot you." The apparent absurdity of that statement threw him.

"You don't have a gun," he pointed out, momentarily forgetting the jacket. Tania swiftly reached under the black jacket she was wearing, pulled out a handgun that had apparently been in a shoulder holster, and leveled the barrel at Shizuo.

"I have a gun," she stated. "Now tell me why you were following me."

"You don't even know that I was following you!" he snapped. Just because he had been following her – or at least heading in the direction she had gone, hoping to find her – didn't give her the right to point a gun at him! She could kill him with that thing pointed at his chest like that! He could feel the anger rising in him, and he clenched his fists and jaw. He hadn't done anything to her, and she was pointing a gun at him!

"You just came from a discussion with me. Your companion who insists you aren't her bodyguard ran off one way and you came the other way, after me. The logical assumption would be that you were following me. Now tell me why." Her voice washed over him, cool and slightly distant. Her tone soothed his rising anger, and his fingers uncurled from their fists. He sighed.

"You're holding me at gunpoint because I happened to walk the same way you did? I just wanted to return this. You dropped it back at the school," he told her wearily, holding out the jacket. Her gaze dropped to said jacket, and she lowered the gun.

"You just came to give me the jacket?" she repeated. He nodded, and she holstered the gun. "Thanks." Tania took the jacket, then met his eyes again. "Sorry about that." Her tone wasn't quite as calm now. It was…nervous?

"It's fine. I guess nobody expects a monster like me to do something nice," he sighed. Now she frowned, the first real expression he had seen on her face.

"You're not a monster, Heiwajima," she said. Now the calm was gone, and any nervousness that may have been there was gone as well. Not her tone was sharp. "You're just a man with more strength than usual. That doesn't make you a monster."

"I have no control when I'm angry. I can hurt of kill people and not even know what I'm doing. I don't even try to control myself anymore," he replied, knowing that his disgust and shame was coloring his tone.

"That doesn't make you a monster either. I have very good self-control – that's not bragging, it's the truth – but I was about to shoot you for being nice. I contain my emotions to the point where they don't usually interfere with my control. And my brother has complete self-control and no emotions. Which is more monstrous? You, whose anger is beyond control and sometimes hurts people? Or my brother, who has no anger at all and simply hurts people because he was hired to?" Tania's gaze pinned him in place, forcing him to listen to her voice, as if her clear, pointed tone wasn't compelling enough. Shizuo realized his jaw was hanging and closed his mouth quickly.

"You sound like Arlua," he said. "She always tells me I'm not a monster unless I use my strength and anger to hurt people on purpose and enjoy it."

"Arlua is right," Tania told him firmly. "You're not a monster." Her next words were muttered under her breath as she turned away, and for a moment he wasn't sure he had really heard them. "You are very distracting though."

Just as he noticed a faint tinge of pink on her cheeks and realized she was blushing – _blushing!_ – she finished turning away and then strode off down the street, leaving the blond standing there, trying to figure out why the woman with the captivating chocolate eyes and waving brown hair had blushed as she said he was distracting.


	21. Chapter 20

**To Shan-kun, thank you for reviewing! I know I can count on you to make sure I keep everyone in character! And yeah, Arlua missed. Here's why.**

**Disclaimer: I own my ocs, of which there are lots, but that's all.**

Arlua, her lips still pressed against Izaya's, shifted her weight slightly and brought her knee up sharply, meaning to knee him in the groin as hard as she could.

Izaya twisted and took the blow on his thigh as he pulled away, smirking even more than usual. Arlua stumbled slightly, having not anticipated his dodge.

_I should have, though,_ she thought sourly as she regained her balance. _Of course he would dodge._

"Well, Lu-chan, that was surprising,~" Izaya murmured. Arlua glared at him.

"Shut up," she snapped. His smirk widened, which she hadn't thought was possible.

"If I say 'make me,' are you going to kiss me again?" he inquired curiously.

"Why would I kiss a cretin like you?" she demanded. Izaya laughed.

"I don't know, Lu-chan. You tell me; after all, you just did kiss a cretin like me," he reminded her. Arlua scowled.

"Shut up," she said again.

_I have to change the subject, but what…the password._

"Just tell me what password you set on that flash drive so I can go," she ordered. Izaya laughed again.

"But I already told you what it is. You just didn't listen," he informed her loftily. The technician opened her mouth to snap that no, he did not tell her, and if he had and she hadn't been listening, that was only because he was so insane that she had to tune him out in case his insanity was contagious. Before she could say anything, though, she felt the warmth of his mouth on hers once more.

Her brain refused to register what was happening. She had kissed him, and now he was kissing her. And he wasn't smirking, she noted absently. She would have been content to stay like that for a while, except there was a sharp crack, and a bullet ricocheted off the concrete beside them. Arlua flinched, breaking the contact. She scanned the area for the shooter, feeling panic rising.

_Who fired at us? Were they even aiming at us? And if they were, who were they aiming at? Me? Or-_ she looked around for the informant. Izaya was gone. Vanished. _Damn germ,_ she snarled silently.

"Are you all right?" That calm, detached, emotionless voice… Arlua whirled and found the teenager Malcolm watching her. The teen who had been with him when he was running from Izaya, the one Arlua guessed was Supai, stood beside him, holstering a handgun at his hip.

"Apart from almost being shot a second ago? Yeah," she said faintly, eyeing the now-holstered weapon warily.

"You weren't almost shot. I wouldn't have hit you," Supai said, sounding slightly offended. "I can shoot almost as well as Tania."

"But you shoot to kill. So you'll have to forgive me for not feeling comfortable by that," she snapped.

"He wouldn't shoot you or the maggot," Malcolm told her flatly. "We promised not to take any more jobs against you if you helped us with him, and the maggot Supai wants to beat, not kill." Arlua blinked.

"The maggot?"

"My cousin, Izaya Orihara," Supai sighed. "I call him the maggot."

"Everyone's got their own name for him," Arlua laughed. "It gets confusing. To Shi – Shizuo Heiwajima – he's the flea, to Natsuki he's just Orihara, to you two he's the maggot, and I call him-"

"Germ?" Malcolm murmured, referring to their text conversation.

"Your boyfriend?" Supai suggested cheekily. Arlua glared at him, feeling her cheeks heat as she blushed.

"He is not my boyfriend. I don't even like him. He's insane and impossible and he screws around with people for the fun of it," she snapped.

"And you just kissed him twice," Supai pointed out, grinning mischievously.

"Once," Arlua corrected. "He kissed me the second time. There's a difference." She could feel her face getting redder and redder. "Anyway, what I was going to say is, I call him lots of things, none of which are complementary."

"What about that nickname you gave him? Izzy?" Supai questioned. The technician blinked.

"How did you know about that?" she demanded. Supai smirked, looking so much like Izaya with that expression that Arlua debated trying to kick him in the groin, too.

"I'm an informant, like him," he explained. "And an assassin if things get messy for Malcolm," he added, patting the holstered handgun at his side. Arlua rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, Malcolm, your sister is very helpful," she said, changing the subject. Malcolm's blank expression never wavered, but Supai froze.

"Tania? Did you do something to her?" he whispered. The technician frowned.

"Of course not. I just happened to meet her. We talked for a bit, and she told me your last names and that you attend Raira. Then she left, and Shi went to give her the jacket that she dropped while I came here and took care of some stuff."

"Shi…you said Shi was Shizuo Heiwajima. You let him go after Tania?" Supai demanded. "What if he hurts her?" Arlua sighed at the fear in the boy's voice.

"Shi wouldn't hurt her. Not unless she hurts him. He's really very gentle, not a monster like people think he is," Arlua told him wearily. She was really tired of people treating Shizuo like he wasn't human just because he was stronger than them and got very angry very quickly.

"Heiwajima is a monster. He flies into a rage at the slightest insult, and sometimes without any noticeable trigger," Malcolm stated emotionlessly. Arlua crossed her arms angrily.

"Shizuo Heiwajima is not a monster. A monster is someone like you, who takes money to hurt and terrorize and steal from people," she snapped. Malcolm didn't react. Supai scowled.

"Malcolm and I are not monsters," he snapped.

"Well neither is Shizuo. Now run home to Ikebukuro before your cousin comes back," Arlua ordered. Without waiting to see if they obeyed or not, she turned and marched back the way she had come, toward SupportTech, where she would have to figure out what Izaya meant when he said he had already told her what the password on the flash drive was.


	22. Chapter 21

**Quick! Before you read this chapter, do you know what password Izaya put on the flash drive?**

**Thank you to Shan-kun for your review! Yes, I almost feel sorry for Arlua, having to deal with Izaya and his unpredictableness, except…I don't. As you know. And this chapter will be no better for her, I fear.**

**And thanks to Drew the Seagull. Brother dear, I know you're glad Supai finally got actual spoken lines, but I was hoping for more constructive criticism.**

**Disclaimer: my OCs are my OCs, and those who are not my OCs are not my OCs and therefore are not mine. Although I kind of wish they were. **

As Arlua neared SupportTech's building, where she knew Natsuki would be waiting for her, she replayed in her mind every moment since waking up that morning – every moment involving Izaya, anyway. Except for the part where she kissed him, and the part where he kissed her. He had to have told her something…but when had he ever mentioned passwords?

Then she remembered.

_"Oh, and you should know: I only use a password for one thing at a time, so I had to change the one on my computer."_

A password for one thing at a time…if he had to change the one on his computer, then he had to be using the old computer password for something else. And what else had he put a password on? The flash drive.

Arlua wasn't sure whether to be irritated with him or pleased that she had figured it out. Provided the password she had in mind actually worked, of course.

"Arlua! There you are!" Natsuki exclaimed when Arlua stepped into her office. "I was starting to worry, since you just dashed off like that!"

"Sorry. I had to do a little disinfecting," Arlua replied. She waved away Natsuki's confused look. "Don't worry about it. I know what the password is." Without waiting for a reply, she went over to her friend's computer and pulled up the flash drive's files. A dialogue box popped open, asking for a password. Arlua grinned. "Natsuki, you did say this would fix his problem," she commented, typing in the password. The dialogue box disappeared, and the files came up.

"How did you…?"

"Don't ask," the technician sighed, cutting her friend's question off. "Here's the password." Arlua grabbed a Post-It and scribbled _straightjacket&paddedroom_ on it, then handed it to Natsuki, who eyed it warily.

"No really, how did you figure that out?"

"No really. Don't ask," Arlua snapped. "I really don't want to talk about Izzy right now."

"Izzy?" Arlua froze.

_Not again! _

"Forget I said that. I'm going home; I want to make sure Malcolm didn't break in since I wasn't there last night," Arlua muttered.

"You didn't go home last night?" Natsuki really was annoyingly observant this morning, Arlua noted sourly.

"That's not-"

"Where did you stay? With this 'Izzy' person?" her friend demanded. "And what does he have to do with figuring out the password? I thought it was Orihara who…" Natsuki trailed off, eyes widening. "Arlua Teki, you didn't go home last night because you were with _Izaya Orihara?!"_

"That's nowhere near what I said!" Arlua spluttered, face turning red.

"But it's what happened, right?" Natsuki pressed. Arlua scowled.

"I borrowed his office for the night because my house wasn't safe. That's it. He wasn't even there when I went in. He snatched the flash drive and put the password on it while I was sleeping. It's not like anything happened."

"Are you sure about that?" Natsuki inquired. "One of the most dangerous men in the city – the most dangerous in my opinion – and he didn't hurt you? He must like you. With that in mind, the most dangerous man in the city likes you and didn't try anything?"

"She's the one who was trying things." Arlua felt her face flush bright red as she whirled around.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Izaya Orihara leaned against the doorframe, smirking.

"Well I noticed my disreputable cousin and his bounty hunting sidekick hanging around you again, so I decided to see what they wanted," he explained easily.

"Then why aren't you bothering them, you irritating cretin?" the technician snapped.

"Because you're more fun, Lu-chan," he replied cheerfully. Natsuki stepped forward, an odd, sharp light in her eyes.

"You're Izaya Orihara," she stated, her tone somewhere between angry and gleeful. "Why are you here? And what did you mean, Arlua was the one trying things?" Izaya raised an eyebrow at her tone.

"Natsuki Homeron. Been to see your father recently?" he asked casually. Natsuki's expression twisted into an ugly mask of rage and grief.

"How dare you talk about my father?" she hissed. Arlua stared at her friend, not entirely sure whether to be frightened or shocked. Natsuki was usually a fairly laid-back person. Arlua had no idea why Izaya mentioning her father would trigger such an extreme reaction.

"Tut tut, Homeron. If you keep making that expression, your face might just freeze like that, and then what would that monster think of you?" Arlua looked from Natsuki to Izaya and back again, trying to follow their conversation.

_What does Natsuki's father have to do with anything? And why is she reacting to him this way?_ _I know Izzy's aggravating, but…_ Arlua shook her head, deciding to just get an explanation from one of them later.

"By the way, Homeron, when I said Arlua was the one trying things, I meant that she was the one who kissed me, not the other way around. So no, I didn't try anything with her – although you're right, I do like her, as much as I can like any one human. Lu-chan is very interesting. Thank you so much for letting me borrow her,~" Izaya was saying when Arlua focused on her surroundings once more. Natsuki's rage kind of froze as the implications of the informant's words sank in. Arlua moved quickly toward the door, only for Izaya to reach out and wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from escaping. She blushed furiously.

"Arlua…kissed…you…?" Natsuki repeated faintly. She looked like she was about to either go into shock or kill someone. The technician gave the informant a sour look, cheeks still red.

"Gee, thanks, you insufferable flea," she muttered, using Shizuo's name for him. Izaya smirked.

"You're the one who did it, Lu-chan," he pointed out. "Though I really can't imagine why."

"Shut up, Izzy," she snapped. To her surprise, he let go of her when she said that. Arlua didn't stop to think. She fled.


End file.
